Grapefruit Pound Cake

It's time again for the Eating the Alphabet Healthy Recipe Challenge hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were G or H and participants had to make a recipe using a fruit, vegetable, grain, or bean that begins with one of those letters.  Last year I ended up cooking with guava, which I had never cooked with before.  This year I went a little tamer with grapefruit.  First because I got a five pound bag of them on sale at the grocery store.  Second, it's a fruit the whole family loves.  And finally, I had ripped this recipe out of an old Cooking Light magazine intending to make it at some point....and that time has come!  The one major change I made to this recipe was that I used a loaf pan instead of the 10-inch tube pan that the original recipe called for.  I don't own one, nor really forsee myself needing one again!  I debated whether or not to make the glaze but in the end went for it.  The grapefruit in this recipe doesn't really stand out too much, but gives the cake and glaze a slight citrus tang.  We all enjoyed it....especially warm, right out of the oven!  Go check out the other bloggers below who have joined the Eating the Alphabet Challenge....or even better, check out the link above and join us next month!

Grapefruit Pound Cake
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, January 2012

Ingredients:
Baking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
6 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated grapefruit rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Coat a 9x5 inch pan with baking spray. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Place granulated sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in oil, rind, and vanilla.

3. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Spoon batter into pan; bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cake. Cool on rack.

4. Place juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons (about 4 minutes). Cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Drizzle over cake.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

My daughter had a difficult time deciding what she wanted for her birthday dessert.  At first she was thinking about cupcakes.  I think cheesecake might have even been mentioned.  But at the last minute she requested brownies with icing.  I found this recipe with the buttercream frosting and decided to go with it.  My daughter actually helped me make these the morning of her party.  She probably ate half of the chocolate mixture (pre-egg) and icing before these were done!  We served these as brownie ice cream sundaes with all the toppings on the side and a fruit platter.  My daughter loved these.  I'm not a huge chocolate lover and I found these to be REALLY chocolatey!  They are very rich and little squares were perfect. 

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: 12 to 16 brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 to 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the Frosting:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons chocolate milk powder

Directions:
1. Make the Brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish and line with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the edges. Butter the parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Place a medium, heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan (do not let it touch the water) and add the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whisk in the granulated and brown sugars. Whisk in the egg, the yolk, and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture all at once, and fold it into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely; meanwhile, make the frosting.

5. To Make the Frosting: Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, cocoa powder, and salt on medium speed for about 3 minutes.

6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed to incorporate the sugar, and while the mixer is running, slowly add the milk and vanilla extract. Gradually increase the mixer speed to medium-high, beating until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

7. In a small bowl, mix together the cream and the chocolate milk powder. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, and pour the cream mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix until thoroughly combined. You can add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time, if you would like a stiffer frosting.

8. Spread the frosting onto the cooled brownies, and cut into squares. Store brownies in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Lemon Cream Crumb Bars

My mom volunteered to bring dessert for Easter.  She saw a recipe for an Eclair Pie that she wanted to try (which by the way was really good!).  I saw lots of lemon flavored desserts on the blogosphere and thought it would be fitting to have some type of citrus dessert too.  My kids love lemon (they can both eat them like you would an orange slice!) so I figured they would enjoy these.  These were really quick and easy to put together and my daughter helped me make them.  This is an egg-free recipe so the kids had fun licking the bowl clean.  I'm not a big lemon/citrus fan but found these bars tasty enough.  The kids really liked them!

Lemon Cream Crumb Bars
recipe from Dessert Now, Dinner Later via The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar.

Sift flour, salt, & baking powder.

Add oats & flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture & combine. Make sure there are no butter chunks.

Press 1/2-3/4 mixture on the bottom of an 8x8 pan.
Mix together the condensed milk, lemon juice, & zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture.

Knead the remaining crumb mixture with hands, & crumble on the top of the lemon layer, but don't press down or you can ruin your lemon filling.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow pan to rest for 30 minutes before cutting/serving.  These can be chilled in the refrigerator and served cold, which is how I served them.  

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch
One Project at a Time @ A Bowl Full of Lemons

The Secret Recipe Club: Healthy Apple Oats Cheesecake Bars

I am excited to be participating in my second month of The Secret Recipe Club.  This month I was assigned Elana's blog, Cook Book of Trial of Error.  This blog is filled with lots of tasty-looking recipes. Unfortuantely for me, I have an aversion to baking with yeast and Elana likes to bake!  She had so many tasty looking breads and rolls, but I just wasn't ready to challenge myself to make them quite yet!  I like how Elana rates each recipe by taste and by difficulty (both out of 5).  Since I had just made Banana Chocolate Chunk Nutella Muffins last month I had to control myself not to make Crunchy Nutella Bites.  For savory dishes, this Red Curry Salmon with Coconut Brown Rice caught my eye, as well as Chicken with Pecan Cream & Mushrooms.  In the end though I decided to go with a sweet dish and made these Healthy Apple Oats Cheesecake Bars.  They had a rating of 4 out of 5 on taste and a difficulty of 1.....my kind of recipe!  My family loves cheesecake and I just don't make it enough.  This was definitely an excuse for me to whip up a special treat for us but it isn't too bad, because "Healthy" is right in the title!  I made a few changes to the recipe on the blog.  The first one being that I used cream cheese instead of cottage cheese.  I don't make cheesecake enough for me to try to make it healthy!  Although I occasionally eat cottage cheese, when I'm on a healthy eating kick, it's not one of my favorite foods.  And I just couldn't see it being as tasty as cream cheese.  My daughter does not like nuts so I omitted the walnuts from the base/streusel.  Based on Elana's  afterthoughts I ended up using an 8"x8" pan.  I should have used less oat mix in the cookie base and saved more for the streusel topping.  The base was thick and I had barely any streusel topping.  While she thought the crust was a little salty I actually enjoyed it.  I might possibly cut it down to 1/4 teaspoon next time but I enjoyed the salty/sweet mix. I'm sorry for this not-so-stellar pic, but please don't let it deter you from making these great bars!

Healthy Apple Oats Cheesecake Bars
recipe slightly adapted from Cook Book of Trial and Error, which was adapted from Cooking with Chopin, adapted from The Pajama Chef

Ingredients:

For the base / streusel:
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda + 1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

For the cheesecake layer
8 oz bar cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups apple sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8"x8" baking dish.

2. Prepare the cookie base in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to stir together the oats, flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour 1 tbsp or lemon juice over the baking soda, mix until bubbly and add to the bowl. "Cut in" the butter pieces with two knives or with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then stir in the honey with the spoon. Set aside 1/4 cup of the cookie base. Press the remainder of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.

3. For the cheesecake layer, while the crust is baking, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add the other ingredients, except apple sauce and process until combined.

4. After the cookie base has baked for 10 minutes, remove it from oven. Spread cheesecake filling over the partially-baked crust. Then spread the apple sauce on top. It will most likely sink partially, so you will have swirls rather than 2 separate layers. Sprinkle the reserved cookie topping over the apple sauce and bake for 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

5. The cheesecake must cool down to room temperate (or even be refrigerated) before removing from the pan and cutting, otherwise it will break and sag.

6. Store in the fridge.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

As I mentioned in yesterday's post our supper club theme this month was rice.  I picked dessert and yesterday posted this Rice Cheesecake with Praline Sauce.  Since I don't have much experience making cheesecake and wasn't sure how it was going to come out I wanted to have a back-up dessert.  Plus, our kids were at this dinner and even though my kids love cheesecake, not all children do.  So I wanted to also have a child-friendly dessert.  I saw these Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars and knew that if I didn't make them for supper club I was going to be making them at some point.  So I went for it.  Boy am I glad that I did! In Michelle's (Brown eyed Baker) blog post which you can find here she notes that the next time she made these she'd half the brownie recipe since the proportion of brownie to the other layers was too thick.  Since I hate doing math and trying to half recipes (especially when they're unequal amounts!) I decided to make the whole brownie recipe and split it up into two pans.  This meant extra brownies for us....yes!  This was definitely the right way to go and all the layers were evenly balanced out.  Just to note, the only slight change I made to this recipe was only using 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the brownie base.  Even that seemed a lot to me with all of the other sweetness going on with these bars.  1 cup of sugar could probably be enough.  These bars are so good!  Everyone at supper club loved them and I've been enjoying the leftovers for days.  My husband wanted to take them to work and I told him, "No way, I'm eating these!"  I do recommend chilling these bars.  I had left them out when we got to supper club and the chocolate top got pretty melty.  I've been eating the leftovers that have been chilled and refrigerating them helps the bar keep its shape and not become a gooey mess....and yes, they are just as tasty leftover! 

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
recipe VERY slightly adapted from Brown eyed Baker

Yield: 24 bars
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:

For the Brownie Base:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Toppings:
1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows
1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter (don't use natural peanut butter)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

2. For the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Rice Cheesecake with Praline Sauce

Last Saturday was our supper club dinner.  This month's theme was rice.  Everyone had to make a dish using rice, in any form....rice, rice flour, etc.  I quickly claimed dessert and then jokingly said I'd make rice krispy treats.  I do love them but they're not quite supper club caliber material!  I didn't want to make rice pudding because I had made that for our Indian themed dinner a couple of months ago.  I found this recipe on the Riceland Foods website.  In the picture on their site it looked like the rice sunk to the bottom, almost like a crust, with the cheesecake on top.  In mine, the rice stayed mixed with the cheesecake which gave it a texture that I didn't like.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy the cheesecake and I did really like the praline sauce.  This was something different but I probably won't be making it again. 

Rice Cheesecake with Praline Sauce
recipe from Riceland.com

Yield:  16 servings

Ingredients:

FILLING:
3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups cold cooked Riceland Plump & Tender Medium Grain Rice

PRALINE SAUCE
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup pecan halves

Directions:
Heat oven to 325F. Spray 10-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add 1 cup half-and-half and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in rice. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until set. (To minimize cracking, place shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack during baking.) Cool cheesecake to room temperature on wire rack. Remove sides of pan. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. To prepare sauce, melt margarine in medium saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup half-and-half; return to a boil. Remove from heat; cool. Stir in pecans. Serve with cheesecake. (From our "Riceland Collection" cookbook)

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Cheesecake Cups

To know how far behind I am on posting, I made these Cheesecake Cups for dessert for Christmas Eve.  Yes, that was almost a month ago!  Every Christmas Eve we go to my cousin's house in CT.  She asked me to bring dessert.  My other cousin's wife always brings some cookies, so I didn't want to make more.  But I also didn't want to bake a cake.  I ended up making an Eggnog Pie and these Cheesecake Cups.  I know my family loves cheesecake so they would get eaten. I thought that with the cookies and pie, these cups would be small enough that everyone could sample a little bit of everything and not feel like they had to eat a whole piece of cheesecake.  The store was out of regular Nilla Wafers so I ended up buying mini ones and used mini cupcake wrappers.  I left the original recipe amounts and cooking time below though.  These were a hit!  Everyone enjoyed them and they were really easy to make.

Cheesecake Cups
recipe slightly from allrecipes.com, courtesy of LOOPDHERB

Ingredients:
16 vanilla wafer cookies
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can cherry pie filling
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin pans with cupcake papers.

2.Place one wafer cookie in the bottom of each cupcake paper. In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour over wafers in cupcake papers.

3.Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes, until golden and set.

4. Add either cherry pie filling or mini chocolate chips to top.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Might Have Missed Monday: Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

It's Monday again, so I'm sharing another recipe post from my blog that my family enjoyed a lot that you may not have seen.  I made these cookies last December right before Christmas.  This recipe makes a ton of cookies so I was able to use one batch for both my supper club cookie exchange and for a friend's annual Christmas party cookie competition.  Unfortunately, these cookies didn't place in the competition......but I think it's just because they weren't really "Christmasy."  Taste-wise my family loved them and they'd get a 2 thumbs up.  However, when I made them the dough was a bit sticky and hard to work with.  Luckily, my more patient husband helped me with them. So based on work involved and difficulty I gave them a 1 1/2.  I'd definitely make these again though.
 

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies
recipe from Picky Palate

Yield:  approximately 6 dozen

Ingredients:
2 Cups sugar
1 Cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup sour cream
6 Cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons softened butter, (slice 2 Tablespoons 6 times totaling 12 tablespoons)
1 1/2 Cups packed light brown sugar, divided into 1/4 Cups
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided

Frosting:
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
2-4 Tablespoons milk, to thin icing

Directions:
1. In a mixer, cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream until well combined. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined.

2. In 2 batches, place in plastic wrap in a disc shape and chill for at least 2 hours for best results.

3. Once chilled, cut each disc into thirds and roll into a 1/8 inch thick oval, about 12 inches X 5 inches. Spread each rolled pieces of dough with 2 Tablespoons softened butter, 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Start rolling from the long end closest to you, rolling into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 inch pieces of dough placing pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

4. To prepare frosting, beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth, slowly add powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency. Frost cookies then place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Manic Monday Party @ Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
The Bulletin Board @ Mrs. Happy Homemaker
Totally Tasty Tuesdays @ Mandy's Recipe Box

Cake Batter Bars

I know a few days ago I posted Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats.  Well I had some funfetti cake mix left over and Kim from Lovin' From the Oven, where I found the Rice Krispy Treat recipe also had this recipe there.  What a perfect way to use up the rest of the leftover cake mix.  These bars were sooo good!  They were really moist and chewy and easy to make.  To help myself not eat the whole batch I'd cut myself one large square in around lunchtime and every time I'd want some I'd cut a little sliver off of that one square.  It helped to make that one square last almost all day!  Since I'm not a huge chocolate lover these were right up my alley.  I will totally be making these again soon!

Cake Batter Bars
Lovin' From the Oven

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup funfetti cake mix
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 heaping tablespoons sprinkles of your choice (I used stars)

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.

2.Cream both sugars, butter, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.

3.Gradually mix in flour, cake mix, and baking soda until just mixed. Stir in sprinkles.

4.Spread batter evenly into greased pan.

5.Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned and middle still jiggles slightly. Cool completely before cutting.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

The Weekend Chef: Indian Rice Pudding

For our Indian themed supper club my husband decided to make Indian Rice Pudding.  When he did a search for Indian desserts this was by far the most popular.  We've eaten this plenty of times at the local Indian Buffet.  But I have to say that this isn't my most favorite dessert.  If I'm going to eat rice pudding, I have to admit that I like it plain, without the spice and in this case, pistachios.  This did get me to visit the local Middle Eastern store to buy some rose water.  While the recipe is easy enough, like my recipe for Saag Paneer, the cooking time does not account for the constant stirring of the milk to bring it to a boil which took forever!  Everyone at supper club seemed to enjoy this....so I think it's my own biased opinion (and blog!) that's giving this 1 1/2 thumbs up versus the 2 that my husband would like to give it!

Indian Rice Pudding
recipe from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Aarti Sequeira

Ingredients:
1/2 cup basmati rice
6 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon rosewater, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons minced unsalted pistachios or almonds, plus extra for garnish

Directions:
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, bring the rice, milk, and cardamom to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a heat-safe spoonula to help keep the milk from burning.

Reduce the heat so that the milk is gently simmering and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring often. The rice should be tender and the milk will have reduced by half, giving a porridge-like consistency.

Add the sugar, rosewater or vanilla, and pistachios. Stir and turn off the heat. Serve either warm or chilled, garnished with extra pistachios. Goes well with fresh fruit too.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

I LOVE rice krispy treats.  When I used to teach I'd bring rice krispy treats to various events and everyone would go crazy.  I don't know why I don't make them more often since there's virtually no cooking involved.....maybe because I might eat them all??!!!  Luckily, I made these because we were going to some friends (who are also brothers) house-warming.  I made these and my husband made some m&m cookies.  Good thing, because they were the only dessert type foods there.....they are bachelors who don't really cook (their sisters pretty much made all of the food there!).  Everyone loved these and I figured with the cake batter and sprinkles it bumped them up a notch from regular rice krispy treats.  Plus, I've been wanting to make these for awhile and finally had a reason!

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats
recipe from Lovin' From the Oven

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows (4 cups mini marshmallows)
3/4 cup Funfetti cake mix
6 cups rice krispies cereal
6 heaping tablespoons of sprinkles

Directions:
1.Completely melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.

2.Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.

3.Next, stir in the cake mix until dissolved.

4.Stir in the cereal until it is evenly coated with marshmallow. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix and continue stirring.

5.Press the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with remaining sprinkles.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is shared at:
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Totally Tasty Tuesdays @ Mandy's Recipe Box
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays @ Blessed with Grace

Might Have Missed Monday: Monkey Bars

I have decided to repost some of my favorite/most popular posts from when I first started my blog over a year ago. I've posted almost a new recipe every day since beginning this blog. I've had a lot of new followers recently, so there's sure to be some great recipes you might have missed! I first posted this recipe on November 9, 2011.

Somehow, bananas always seem to get too ripe before being eaten in my house. I usually throw them in a ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer until I need the freezer space or think that they need to be thrown out. After a recent grocery shopping trip my husband, annoyed, after doing the "freezer shuffle" pulled out a bag of ripe bananas and declared that he was, "going to do something with these." I jokingly said, "you mean I will do something with them." But I guess I wasn't joking. I whipped these up on Monday afternoon after searching for a banana recipe that I hadn't tried yet. Overall, these were a hit! I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular 1% milk. I omitted the walnuts and to make these kid-friendly, I used the apple juice instead of rum. These were delicious and super-moist!

Monkey Bars
recipe from Cooking Light,  October 2001

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum or apple juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high for 1 minute, and set aside. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 3 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana and next 3 ingredients (banana through egg whites), beating well. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in raisin mixture and walnuts.

Spread the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool the bars completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is shared at:
Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling
The Bulletin Board @ Mrs. Happy HomeMaker

Pampered Chef - Taffy Apple Pizza

We went to a friend's annual Halloween party this past Saturday.  I usually end up bringing a dessert but try to stay away from cupcakes, cake, or brownies, since others tend to bring those types of desserts.  I found this dessert recipe and thought it would be perfect.  It isn't really "Halloween-y" but it is definitely "fall-ish."  There really isn't much cooking involved, just a lot of preparation and assembling of ingredients.  I had a little difficulty getting the cookie off the stone after baking. With my husband's help we ended up pre-slicing the cookie and trying to patch the slices back up, before I put the rest of the ingredients on.  As I predicted, there were a lot of cupcakes and brownies at the party.  I got a lot of compliments on this dessert and everyone seemed to like it.

Pampered Chef-Taffy Apple Pizza
recipe from Home Cooking

Ingredients:
1 package (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium Granny Smith apples
Ground cinnamon
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping, warmed
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. For crust, shape cookie dough into a ball. Place dough in center of round baking stone; flatten slightly with palm of hand. Roll out dough to a 14-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Bake 16-18 minutes or until light golden brown; cool 10 minutes. Carefully loosen cookie from baking stone using a serrated knife; cool completely. For topping, combine cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla mix well. Spread mixture evenly over top of cookie. Peel, core and slice apples. Arrange apples evenly over cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with cinnamon. To heat caramel topping, microwave on HIGH 30-45 seconds or until warm; drizzle over apples. Chop peanuts sprinkle over apples. Cut pizza into 16 wedges.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This recipe was shared at:
Creative Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Tasty Thursdays

Nutella & Peanut Butter Crescent Roll

In our house we go through peanut butter like there's no tomorrow.  The kids eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as often as I'll let them.  Many mornings my breakfast is a piece of toast spread with peanut butter.  And my husband will sometimes eat a giant spoonful of the stuff right from the jar.  Now pair peanut butter with some Nutella and we have something amazing going on! I saw this recipe and knew that I had to make it to celebrate my son's first day of preschool.  I spent the past year home preschooling him, if there's such a thing.  Since he's going to Kindergarten next year we knew he needed to go to a local preschool this year to learn and adjust to the structure of a school day.  It's only for 2 1/2 hours each morning though so I get to spend some alone time with my little monkey before the big sister gets off the bus.  To celebrate the finish of his first day of preschool I made this for an after dinner treat.  His first day coincided with my daughter's first day of after school religious education so fortunately, this dessert was super easy to make!  I whipped this up while the kids were finishing their dinner.  And it was so delicious, warm right out of the oven! Unfortunately, my husband didn't realize that it's best served warm, so he was eating the leftovers cold...yuck!  I tried some leftovers the next day heated up in the toaster, but it just doesn't taste the same.....so if you end up eating it all the first day, I totally understand and support you!

Nutella & Peanut Butter Crescent Roll
recipe from Reluctant Entertainer

Ingredients:
2 packages crescent rolls
3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 T. butter, melted
1/8 cup mixture of cinnamon and sugar

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375. Spray a cookie sheet.

2.Open and unroll the 2 packages of crescent rolls, making a circular rectangle, end-points pointing toward the outside of the pan. Place 1-2 triangles in the center.

3.Spread the Nutella down the center of the rectangle.

4.Spoon the peanut butter on top.

5.Bringing 2 points across from eachother together, twist and bring to the center. Do this with all pieces.

6.Drizzle melted butter on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

7.Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough is fully cooked and slightly golden on top.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up!

Crazy Cooking Challenge: Oreo Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars

It's time again for the Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by Tina at Moms Crazy Cooking.  This month's theme was cheesecake.  I remember growing up I loved cheesecake.  As I've gotten older, I enjoy cheesecake, but it's definitely not one of my top favorite desserts.  So I don't really make cheesecake.  When I heard the theme I knew I was going to make a cheesecake bar of some sort.  To me, bars seem more casual and easy to eat.  After thinking about it I thought I'd try an oreo cookies and cream cheesecake bar.  I found my recipe at Thats so Yummy a new blog that I came across in my search for a recipe.  Boy am I glad that I made these bars!  They were really good and the kids were super excited since they don't get to eat Oreos very often!  Plus, they love cheesecake.  So these were definitely a hit in our house.

Oreo Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars
recipe from Thats so Yummy

Ingredients:

CRUST:
1 lb package Oreo cookies
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

FILLING:
Three 8 ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides, spray with cooking spray.

Place 28 Oreos in a food processor and process until finely ground (or crush in a ziplock baggie with a can of soup like I did!). Pour the crushed Oreos into a large bowl.

Melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small bowl. Add the melted butter, and stir crumbs and butter are all combined.

Place the cookie-crumb mixture in a foil-lined pan. Using your fingers, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack while you make the filling.

Crush up the remaining Oreos in half, so that your oreos are roughly chopped.

 Combine in a large bowl the cream cheese and sugar. Beat the combo with an electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula and beat again until uniform. Beat in sour cream, vanilla and salt. Scrape down the bowl and mix again.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. After beating in the last egg, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat one more time, to make sure the mixture is fully combined.

Pour in the chopped/ crushed oreos into the filling mixture. Stir in chopped Oreos with the same rubber spatula. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the baked cookie crust. Smooth the top with the rubber spatula, and bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is set around the edges but still slightly wobbly in the center.

Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour or longer.

When the cheesecake has set and cooled cover it with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or more.


Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

 

Peach Blackberry Cobbler

I know that not everyone likes carrot cake so I wanted to have another dessert available for guests.  While I did serve watermelon I didn't want to go to the trouble of making a fruit salad.  I ended up deciding on this fruit cobbler.  Both the peaches and blackberries were on sale too which was a plus.  This was easy to make.  I got it ready before we sat down to eat and while we were eating popped it in the oven to bake.  I served this with vanilla ice cream.  Everyone was raving about this.  I know my daughter isn't a big fan of warm fruit but she surprisingly ate some and enjoyed it.  I think there are too many cobbler-like recipes out there that I haven't made  that I probably wouldn't repeat this one again.  However, I highly recommend it!

Peach Blackberry Cobbler
Recipe from Cooking Light, May 2008

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted and divided
Cooking spray
3 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 1 pound)
2 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup 1% low-fat milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Pour 2 tablespoons melted butter into the bottom of a 2-quart dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Combine peaches, blackberries, and 1 tablespoon flour in a large bowl; toss gently. Add 1/4 cup sugar and ginger; toss gently to combine. Pour peach mixture into prepared baking dish. Lightly spoon remaining 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1 cup flour, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and milk, stirring with a whisk. Pour batter evenly over fruit mixture.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies

While I was making the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for the adults for my parent's St. Patrick's Day celebration I needed a child-friendly dessert.  I recently discovered that my kids love cheesecake.  I already knew they loved brownies.  So, I found this recipe in my stash of recipes torn out of magazines from long ago and decided to give these a try.  I put a drop of green food coloring in the cheesecake batter to make it look more holiday-ish.  Overall, I thought they were okay....really, have you ever eaten a bad brownie?  I think if I had my choice, I'd rather keep the two treats separate.   

Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies
from Gourmet, June 2007

Yield:  16

Active Time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 50 minutes (not including cooling)

Two adored classics come together in this dessert lover's superbrownie.

Ingredients:

For brownie batter:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For cheesecake batter:
8 oz. cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make brownie batter:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. 

Heat butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally, just until melted.  Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until well combined.  Whisk in flour until just combined  and spread in baking pan. 

Make cheesecake batter and bake brownies:
Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.  Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula. 

Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set, about 35 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Family Rating: 1 thumbs up.

Shared at:

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I know St. Patrick's Day was almost a week ago.  However, I made several recipes that I wanted to share.....I'll repost them next year too, so maybe they'll be of more use!

My parents decided to have a little St. Patrick's Day family gathering at their
place.  I had seen lots of posts on various food blogs for special holiday treats so I volunteered to bring dessert. Now, my husband and I are not big drinkers at all.  I saw this recipe and had to make it....unfortunately, we owned neither of the three alcohols that needed to go into this recipe.  Luckily my parents owned two of them.  So I picked up a can of Guinness and the bottle of Irish Whiskey from them and bought a bottle of Irish Cream from the liquor store.  I'm going to be honest, I couldn't make myself buy the $24 bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream when I could buy the same size bottle of Merry's Irish Cream for $11.  I only planned on cooking with it, not drinking it, so I felt okay with  my decision!  I posted the original recipe here, but I ended up halving the recipe since there were only 6 adults eating these and I didn't want a ton leftover.  I have to say at first I wasn't that impressed.  I couldn't really taste the alcohol in them (and shh, even let my kids have a little taste!).  When I brought home the leftovers and let them sit in the fridge overnight, the ganache ended up hardening more and I ended up liking them more the next day....and the next!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
from Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Bake Time: 17 minutes

For the Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

For the Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:
1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Skillet Monkey Bread

When I saw this recipe while blog perusing I immediately bookmarked it and had to make it.  If I haven't mentioned it, my kids LOVE peanut butter and jelly.  That's what they'd have for lunch every day if I let them, but I try to limit it to one time a week!  I thought this would be a nice treat for them and it looked easy enough for them to help make.  All I can say is YUMMY!  I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing. And next time I won't stop, because it definitely didn't taste nearly as good the next day! 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Skillet Monkey Bread
from Picky Palate

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 can Refrigerated Biscuits, 8 count
1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed in microwave until liquid like
1/2 cup jelly of choice, warmed in microwave until liquid like
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 9-inch cast iron skillet with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Cut each biscuit into fourths. Place melted butter into a large ziplock bag and toss in cut biscuits. Shake around to coat then toss in sugar, mixing to combine. Pour into prepared 9-inch cast iron skillet and drizzle warmed peanut butter and jelly over top. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until cooked through and golden.

3. Whisk the heavy cream and powdered sugar until combined then drizzle over warm biscuits. Serve warm.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Marbled Peanut Butter & Nutella Brownies

Today, March 1st is National Peanut Butter Lover's Day!  My family loves peanut butter!  I am way behind in my posts....I've cooked too much and I have more recipes than time to post them!  In honor of this day, I am sharing this recipe that I made for us for dessert on Valentine's Day. I had just bought some nutella and these caught my eye.  They seemed easy enough and our family loves the chocolate and peanut butter combination.  So I knew these would be a hit!

They looked really nice with the swirl!  Unfortunately, the peanut butter really overpowers in this recipe and we couldn't really taste the nutella very much.  However, they were nice and moist and of course we didn't mind the peanut butter flavor!  And really, who doesn't love homemade brownies?!!! 

Marbled Peanut Butter & Nutella Brownies
from Cookie Madness

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Swirl Mixture:
1 1/2 oz dark or dark chocolate with hazelnuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon butter
1/4 cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch square metal pan with non-stick foil.

In a mixing bowl, using medium speed and high speed of an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until soft. Beat in vanilla and peanut butter, then add eggs and beat just until mixed in. Scrape sides of bowl and beat in baking powder and salt, making sure they are evenly distributed; Add flour and stir until it is mixed in. Spread peanut butter batter in pan.

Make swirl mixture. Melt chocolate and butter in a small microwave-safe bowl at 50% power. Alternatively, you may use a double boiler or bowl set over a pot of barely simmer water. Remove melted chocolate from heat and stir in Nutella. Drop spoonfuls of Nutella mixture over peanut butter brownie batter and drag a knife through to make a marbled pattern.

Bake on center rack for 30 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the side of the pan and center seems set. Cool pan on a wire rack. When brownies hit room temperature, chill them for an hour or so. Lift from pan and cut into squares.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up!