Snickers Salad

This is my kind of salad.

Snickers Salad

6 large granny smith apples

lemon juice

12 snickers bars

2 C. heavy cream, sweetened and whipped

1/2 C. chopped peanuts

1/2 C. caramel sauce

Chop apples and toss with a few T. lemon juice. Chop snickers bars into pieces the same size as the apples. Toss apples and snickers with whipped cream. Top with nuts and drizzle with caramel. You'll be the most popular person at the potluck. :)

Apricot Rice Krispies Treats

This is an easy twist on an already super easy and tasty treat. Any flavor Jell-o can be used, but Laurel and her family love apricot, and I agree- you gotta try it.

Apricot Rice Krispies Treats

5 T. butter

6 C. mini marshmallows

1/2 a small pkg. apricot Jell-o

6 C. Rice Krispies

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and Jell-o and stir til completely melted. Remove from heat and mix in cereal. Spread into a 9 by 13 pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Best if served the same day.

Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

This recipe comes courtesy of Martha Stewie- from her orange baking handbook. Tasty, tasty, tasty. They are delish plain, but in my opinion, even a little better topped with lemon curd. Stephmodo has some great tips on other ways to use the stuff. I've made my own lemon curd a couple times, and it is wonderful. But I will also say that Trader Joe's jarred lemon curd is very comparable.

Give yourself enough time when you make these. They aren't hard, they just take a bit of time with the shaping and par-baking and such. And they are so worth it.

Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

4 oz. cream cheese, room temp

1/2 C. sugar

2 large egg yolks

2 tsp. sour cream

1/8 tsp. vanilla

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

2 C. all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on med speed til light and fluffy. Add 1/4 C. sugar and a pinch of salt, and beat another minute. Add one egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat til smooth. Transfer to small bowl, and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter and remaining 1/4 C. sugar on med speed til well combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and egg yolk, beat to combine. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, mixing just til combined.

Shape level Tablespoons of dough into balls, and place on prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Using your thumb or similarly shaped utensil, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven and make indentations again. Rotate sheets, return to oven and bake til edges turn golden, 7-9 minutes more. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

Using small teaspoon, fill the center of each cookie with about 1 tsp. cream cheese filling, mounding it slightly. Return cookies to oven, and bake til filling is firm, 7-8 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Refrigerate in an airtight container, layered between waxed paper at least 4 hours before serving. Can be refrigerated overnight as well. Bring to room temp for about 20 minutes before serving.

Ambitious Heart Cake

Holy smokes, this is impressive. Love it! Lots more pictures and instructions here.

Chocolate marble cookies

Discovered this recipe a while back on This Week for Dinner, and have loved it ever since. Many recipe requests wherever I take them. The idea is a chocolate chip cookie dough, but instead of the chocolate chips mixed in as is, you melt them first and swirl the two together... thus the marbling. Plus the dough has cream cheese in it. So good.

Chocolate Marble Cookies

- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C packed brown sugar
- 1/2 C butter, softened
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 t. vanilla
- 2 C all purpose flour
- 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1 C semisweet chocolate ships, melted and slightly cooled

Heat oven to 350F. In large mixing bowl combine sugars, butter, cream cheese, egg and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Fold melted chips into dough until lightly marbled. (do not overmix). Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 mins, or until edges are light golden brown. Cool completly before storing.

Yes, please

You won't be sorry. Well, your tastebuds won't.

Figgy Pudding

The last few Christmas Eves, we've made this "figgy" pudding (really chocolate pudding) to have after our tradition of "Rum Tum Piddly" which is a silly name for potato soup in bread bowls. We also borrow from the Danish the tradition of hiding a single almond in the pudding (theirs is rice). Whichever lucky soul who happens upon the almond gets to open the first present of Christmas Eve. One of our tastiest traditions, to be sure.

Figgy Pudding

(sans figs)

2 cubes butter, softened

2 C. flour

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 C. powdered sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups whole milk
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine butter and flour and press into bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, til golden brown. Let cool. Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1/2 the whipped cream, set aside.

For the pudding: Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler. Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients. Place over gently simmering water and stir occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. Whisk often. After 15 to 20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

When crust is cool, spread on cream cheese mixture. Pour pudding on top and spread evenly. Top with sweetened whipped cream. Chill til served.

Pudding recipe from Smitten Kitchen, all the rest from friend Laurel.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

I saw this recipe on Becoming Betty, and thought it would be the perfect dessert to take to my enrichment activity tonight. If you like chocolate and mint, then you will love these cookies. Delish.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Andy's Mint baking chips
• 1 bag Candy Cane Hershey's kisses
  

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in mint chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not over bake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and place a kiss on top.

Giant Cookie Cake

Our big little boy turned three yesterday. After showing him a few different options of cakes I could make him, he decided he liked the one made of giant cookies. Good choice, bud. This idea would be fun just to make the cookies w/out turning it into a cake... it ends up being A LOT of frosting.

Giant Cookie Cake

Serves 16

4 C. all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

6 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 C. light brown sugar

3/4 C. granulated sugar

3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, plus two egg yolks

3/4 C. heavy cream

3 C. semi sweet chocolate chips

5 pkgs cream cheese, room temp

2 C. confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Add in vanilla, eggs, and yolks. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the cream. Stir in chocolate chips.

For each of the 5 layers, drop one level cup batter onto center of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. To make the circle even, trace an 8-inch plate or bowl on the underside of the paper. (Refrigerate unbaked dough.) Spread dough into a circle. Bake til edges are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Use spatula to reshape circle. Return to oven and bake til edges are golden brown, about 6 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack to cool. *There will be leftover dough

Mix cream cheese and sugar in clean mixing bowl. Spread onto 4 cookies. Stack cookies, placing unfrosted cookie on top. Refrigerate til frosting is set, at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours. Serve at room temp.

Pie

For my husband's thirtieth birthday party, I made those pies in jars I had been dying over a few weeks back. They were lots of work but lots of fun. I made some apple, some peach, some pumpkin, and some blackberry, at Chris' request. I found the short squatty jars at Ace Hardware, since they were sold out on Amazon. Here is the blackberry pie recipe I used, adapted from a Blueberry pie I found in my ATK cookbook. This recipe makes one regular pie, follow the link to the pies in jars for instructions on making and baking those.

Blackberry Pie

6 cups blackberries

1 C. plus one T. sugar

4 T. potato starch

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp. allspice

pinch nutmeg

1 recipe double crust pie dough

2 T. unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Toss blackberries, 1 C. sugar, potato starch, lemon juice, lemon zest, and spices together and let stand for 15 minutes. Place bottom crust into pie plate and roll out top crust to a 12 inch circle. Spread berries in the unbaked crust bottom and dot with butter. Lay top crust over berries, seal and crimp the edges, and cut four vent holes. brush crust with egg white and sprinkle with 1 T. of sugar. Place pie on baking sheet and in the oven, then lower the temp to 425. Bake til top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet, reduce oven temp again to 375, and continue to bake til crust is deep golden brown, about 30-35 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack and cool before serving. You can store this pie at room temperature wrapped in foil for two days.

Double-crust Pie Dough

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

8 T. vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces and chilled

12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cun into small pieces and chilled

8 T. ice water

Process the flour, sugar and salt in a food proccesor til combined. Scatter shortening over top and process about ten seconds. Scatter butter over top and, using short pulses, process til it resembles coarse crumbs, about ten pulses. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle ice water over mixture. Stir and pressdough together with a rubber spatula. Divide dough into to even pieces and flatten into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I'd publish a few pumpkin recipes that I think are delicious. Hope you enjoy!


This Pumpkin Cheesecake was a hit at our Thanksgiving dinner last year. Recipe complements of my friend Katy.


Ingredients

For the crust

* 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
* 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled


For the filling

* 1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
* three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons heavy cream
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

Make the crust:
In a bowl combine the cracker crumbs, the pecans, and the sugars, stir in the butter, and press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Chill the crust for 1 hour.

Make the filling:
In a bowl whisk together the pumpkin, the egg, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the ginger, the salt, and the brown sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and the granulated sugar, beat in the cream, the cornstarch, the vanilla, the bourbon liqueur, and the pumpkin mixture, and beat the filling until it is smooth.

Pour the filling into the crust, bake the cheesecake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the center is just set, and let it cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread

This AMAZING pumpkin bread recipe was given to me by a friend. It is very likely the best pumpkin bread I've ever tasted. If you like pumpkin, you must try!!!



INGREDIENTS

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease
two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until
smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin,
ginger, allspice and cinnamon.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder.
Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all
ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Pie in a Jar

Oh. My. Word. Just when I think I've seen it all... This is so fun, I can't wait to test it out. Find the instructions here. I love the internet.

Oreo Banana Cream Pie

Chris took me out for a wonderful dinner for my birthday a couple months ago. We ate at one of the restaurants inside the Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Scottsdale. Our dinner was delish. But one thing stood out above all the rest of the meal. DESSERT. Mini root beer floats and an Oreo banana cream pie with caramel sauce and a crispy cinnamon sugar banana slice. I could not get over how amazing it was. ATK helped me recreate the pie for my Mom's birthday earlier this month. The only thing I cannot figure out is the fried banana. Mine turned to mush. I am stumped and would welcome any suggestions.

Oreo Banana Cream Pie

CRUST:
16 Oreo cookies, broken into rough pieces (not double stuffed)
2 T. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Grind cookies in food processor until fine crumbs. With machine running, pour butter through tube til incorporated. Transfer crumbs to pie plate. Press crumbs into an even layer on the bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool.

FILLING:
1/2 C. plus 2 T. sugar
1/4 C. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
5 large egg yolks
2 C. whole milk
1/2 C. evaporated milk
1/2 vanilla bean split lengthwise
2 T. unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in the milk and evaporated milk. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean halves with a knife. Add both vanilla seeds and pod to the pot. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whsiking frequently, then cook for one minute til mixture is thick and smooth. Off the heat, discard the vanilla bean pod and whisk in the butter.

Pour filling into a shallow pan and lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool at room temp til just warm, about 30 minutes. Pour 1/2 the filling into the Oreo crust, add a layer of 2 ripe bananas, sliced thin, and pour in the remaining filling. Again lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate the pie until completely chilled, about 4 hours.

TOPPING:
1 C. heavy cream, chilled
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
caramel sauce

Just before serving, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Spread over top of the pie. Drizzle with caramel sauce and top with additional sliced bananas, if you fancy.

Carrot Cake

I have never been a huge fan of carrot cake, because of all the chunks. I was intrigued when I saw a recipe that called for carrot baby food. I liked the puree idea, but jarred baby food just tastes NASTY and that won't do.
America's Test Kitchen came to the rescue again. I've made this cake twice in the last couple weeks. Grating the carrots takes a little while... I'd be interested to see how the food processor does.

Carrot Cake

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs, room temp
1 1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 C. veg oil
1 lb. carrots, peeled and grated

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9 by 13 cake pan with veg oil spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk the eggs and sugars together in a large bowl until frothy and the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 min. While whisking, slowly add the oil until the mixture is thoroughly combined, about 1 min. Whisk in the flour mixture til no streaks remain. Stir in the carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until center of cake is done, 40-50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack about two hours. Run a knife around edges of pan, invert the cake on a cooling rack, peel off the parchment, then invert again onto a serving platter.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 T. unsalted butter, softened
1 T. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 C. powdered sugar

Mix the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla with an electric mixer til combined. Add the powdered sugar and mix til smooth. Frost, and dive in!

Strawberry Crunch

This is one of the yummiest desserts ever! The combination of flavors is unbelieveable. Any chocolate chip cookie will do, but my favorite recipe is from here.

Strawberry Crunch

8 oz. fresh strawberries
3 chocolate chip cookies
1 heaping tsp. orange zest
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. melted butter
vanilla yogurt ( I used Strauss because it's really runny- perfect for drizzling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sliced strawberries, orange zest, and sugar in a medium bowl. Pour the strawberry mixture into an oven-safe dish and crumble the cookies on top. Drizzle melted butter all over and bake for 7 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla yogurt drizzled over the top. DIVINE!


Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C. butter
1 C. sugar
1 C. brown Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 C. oatmeal (Blend in blender or food processor until powdery)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 4 oz. Hershey’s bar (grated)

Cream together butter & sugars. Add eggs & vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together flour, oats, salt, baking powder & baking soda then add to butter/sugar mixture. Stir in chips & grated Hershey’s bar. Bake on ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart for 8 minutes @ 375.

Coconut Fruit Dip

Friend Chelsea brought this to a pool party Friday night- it was loved by everyone. I should be a little embarrassed that I have already made it TWICE since. Saturday and Sunday nights. It's that awesome.

Coconut Fruit Dip

1/2 C. softened cream cheese (4 oz., or half a block)
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. sweetened shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients well. Great with berries, pineapple, grapes, whatever suits your fancy.

Sweet Tooth

Whenever it's my turn to make a sunday dinner sweet, I hardly even know where to begin narrowing down my list of to-try desserts, let alone pick just one.

Here's a few on the top of my desserts to-try list (look for them in the upcoming weeks):

apple hand pies

cream cheese cookies

lemon yogurt cake

lemon cheesecake

lemon tart (I know)

fresh orange cookies

sweet nachos

ricotta donuts

banana split pie

sweet strawberry bread

flourless chocolate cake

cream puffs

carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting

peach pie

hot fudge pudding cake

chocolate cupcakes with peaut butter icing

...to name a very few.

Lemon Ice Cream

Since buying my ice cream maker, I've made blackberry, chocolate, chocolate almond, and strawberry, but my favorite is this lemon ice cream. It is rich, creamy, and unbelievably delicious! Recipe from Cafe Johnsonia.

Lemon Ice Cream

1 1/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons)

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

2 whole eggs

4 egg yolks

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, lemon juice, zest, whole eggs, and egg yolk. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add milk and cream. Strain through a fine mesh sieve over a clean bowl. (The mixture will be very thick.) Chill until cold--about 3 hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions. Let the frozen ice cream harden for a few hours before serving. Keeps about a week in an airtight container.Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

Sweet Cake's Gooey Bars

A knock-off recipe of the Sweet Cakes found at the Main Street Mesa bakery of the same name. If you are looking for a gooey, super sweet, super easy treat, look no further.

Sweet Cake's Gooey Bars

1 yellow cake mix
3/4 C. chopped walnuts
1 stick butter
1 box of powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg

Mix together cake mix, walnuts and butter---press into a greased 9x13 pan. Mix powdered sugar, egg and cream cheese. Blend thoroughly and spread over bottom layer
Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 or until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.