Strawberry Jello Trifle

I made this dessert a long time ago for a co-workers birthday and it was so, so good!  It really wasn't that hard to make.  It does take a few steps but it is well worth it.

Strawberry Jello Trifle
from Flour Me With Love

Shortbread:

1 C butter, softened

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 C flour 1/2 tsp. salt

Layers:

4 small boxes of (sugar-free) strawberry jello

4 C boiling water

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

16 ounces frozen whipped topping (cool whip)

1 pint fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet.

Mix together the boiling water and jello; stir until dissolved.  Place in the fridge to start setting up (you don't want it to set up completely).  Cream together the butter, powdered sugar, flour and salt.  Spread evenly onto prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown; set aside to cool.  Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Fold in the frozen whipped topping (cool whip); set aside.  Take the cooled shortbread and break it into crumbs.  Place a layer of crumbs into the bottom of a trifle bowl.  Spread an even layer of the cream cheese mixture on top of the crumbs.  Add an even layer of jello.  Then a layer of strawberries.  Repeat the layers until all the ingredients are gone. Place in the fridge to allow the jello to finish setting up; about an hour.

 

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

I find this cake addictive.  I think I like it better than pumpkin pie. I can't make it very often or if I do I have to share it or I will eat the whole pan.  I like it that much.  It is pretty much pumpkin pie on the bottom and then cake mix with butter and nuts on the top.  I compare it to cherry dump cake.  If you love pumpkin than you should try this asap!

Pumpkin Crunch Cake
from various sources

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INGREDIENTS

1 box yellow cake mix

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

3 whole eggs

1 cup sugar

1 TB. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X13 pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon until well blended. Spread pumpkin mixture in prepared baking dish. Mixture will be very wet.
3. Sprinkle cake mix evenly on top of the batter. If adding pecans, sprinkle them over the cake mix. Pour melted butter over the top of the cake mix. Bake 60 minutes.
4. Cool. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Apple Turnovers

These turnovers are so easy to make.  They are so yummy.  I am not a huge fan of apple but these are very good and I have made these turnovers in cherry.  I picked this recipe to make for my Simple, Easy, Cooking Class at the library.  They were a big hit.  The recipe calls to make them them big but I have cut them down and made the turnovers smaller.

Apple Turnovers
from Taste of Home

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INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup sugar   

1 TB. all-purpose flour  

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups chopped peeled apples

1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed

Topping:

3 TB. Butter, melted

2 TB. Sugar

¼ tsp. Cinnamon

vanilla ice cream, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; add apples and toss to coat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each pastry sheet into a 12-in. square. Cut each into four squares.  Or eight if you want smaller turnovers.
2. Spoon 1/2 cup apple mixture into the center of each square; fold diagonally in half and press edges to seal.  If doing eight squares per sheet do about 2 TB of mixture. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Or I like to use my spill mat sheets.
3. In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon; brush over pastry. Bake at 400° for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream if desired. Yield: 8 or 16 servings. 
   If you want cherry use a can of cherry pie filling. 

Banana Cake made Light

Have I mentioned my love of banana's lately?  I haven't.  Shame on me.  I <3 banana's!  I found this recipe on my Taste of Home app.  Have I mentioned my love of my iPhone?  Love it!  I made this cake several months ago but I have some banana's on my counter just begging to be made into this cake or maybe bread.  I haven't decided yet.







Banana Cake made Light
from Taste of Home

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3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt

For Frosting:
1 package reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the bananas, applesauce and vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture just until blended.

Transfer to a 9x13 baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.

For frosting, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Frost bars.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Birthday Baklava

 For birthday's at the library I like to make a special treat for the birthday girl or boy and get them a card for the staff to sign.  For Helen's birthday I had over heard her talking about liking baklava and I figured, "I could do that."  I have a lot of confidence in myself, ha ha.  I do have to pat myself on the back because for never having made baklava before this turned out very well.  Baklava tastes really good too.  I have never had it before.  It's like eating crispy pecan pie.  Quite yummy.

Baklava seems very intimidating to make but I didn't think it was that bad.  If you are a beginning baker then you might not want to tackle baklava for your first project but sooner or later you should give it a try.  I used Pioneer Woman's recipe and I'm just going to leave you with her link.  The only thing I did differently was butter the phyllo sheets in the pan.  It was easier for me.  Enjoy!

I'm Back with Strawberry Shortcake Cake

I swear I haven't fallen off the face of the planet I just took a break.  For awhile I wasn't feeling very good but now I'm feeling so much better.  Once they figured out some of my health issues I felt like a brand new girl!  Which is a good thing.

I wanted to share some of the amazing, wonderful things going on in my life.  First off I went to Anaheim, California for a library conference.  It was such an amazing experience.  My friend Jessica and her mom Joy got to meet me there.  We had a great time getting to go to Disney Land and California Adventure.  At my conference I got to meet so many wonderful authors like Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer.  Chris Colfer from Glee was there.  I love him.  I just got so inspired by all the programs I went to and the other librarians I talked to.

Jessica and I with the Goofy Statue at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel

Me with Stich (He was very mischievous)

I also became a new mommy to Sadie Deville.  I forgot what it is like to have a kitten.  She is so loving and playful.  My hands and arms are all scratched up but its worth it.  My other babies are slowly starting to like her.  Her and Sage are bonding.  I found them today in the laundry basket together.  Of course they were on top of my clean clothes, but that's what I get for leaving them out.

Sadie says Hi

Today I got a promotion at work.  I am now the Hobart Township Manager.  I am really going to miss working with Carol on a day to day basis but life changes and you have to change with it.  She is off to Central and they are lucky to get her.  I am very happy to stay at Hobart.

A Vision in Red

On to the food.  This Strawberry Shortcake Cake is so good.  It would be great to take to a summer party, just don't leave it outside.  It does better keeping it in a cooler environment.  Everyone who eats this will be really impressed and will think you slaved away over it in reality it's super simple.



Strawberry Shortcake Cake
as found on The Country Cook

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1 box white cake mix prepared according to the directions on the box in a 9x13 pan, cooled
1 (8 oz.) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
1 (13.5 oz.) container strawberry glaze
3 cups fresh strawberries cut into bite size pieces

In a mixing bowl mix together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Mix in Cool Whip.  Spread over the cooled cake.  In another bowl mix together the strawberries and glaze.  Spread it over the Cool Whip mixture.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Crescents

One night Will wanted ice cream. We didn't have any and neither of us wanted to get out and get any. I knew I had crescent rolls in the fridge and chocolate chips so I made chocolate crescents for him and cherry pies for me. Chocolate crescents are very tasty and satisfied Will's sweet tooth. These a very easy to make.







Chocolate Crescents
a Lacey creation

8 crescents, 4 WW points per crescent

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1 tube reduced fat crescent rolls
8 T milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Unroll the tube of crescent rolls. If your rolls unroll okay you should have 8 triangles. When I made these I was having difficulties and mine were not unrolling very well. That is why I didn't end up with crescent shapes. I separated the dough as best as I could and ended up smooshing each piece of dough into a round, filling it with 1 T of chocolate chips, and closed up the round so the chocolate chips were completely enclosed. If you don't have those type of problems and your triangles come out okay you can place 1 T of chocolate chips on each triangle and than roll each triangle up starting at the wide side working towards the point making sure to keep the chocolate chips in. Place the crescent rolls unto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Enjoy all the chocolaty goodness.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls made Light

I love cinnamon, but not cinnamon candy. But cinnamon rolls are right up my alley and these were delicious. What's even better is these are low in points, but that doesn't mean I can eat the whole pan. :)

Mini Cinnamon Rolls
a Lacey creation

24 mini rolls, 3 WW points with cream cheese frosting, 2 WW points without

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2 tubes reduced fat crescent roll
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
2 T Cinnamon, divided
2 T Light Butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

On a lightly floured surface unroll one of the tubes of crescent rolls. It would be easier to use the seamless crescent rolls which is low in fat but I can never find it in Walmart so I work with what I have. Piece together the eight rolls and pinch them together so it is one flat rectangle. Spread 1 T of the light butter over the rectangle. In a bowl mix together 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 T Cinnamon. Sprinkle over the butter and spread to the edges. Roll the crescent up starting at the long side into a tight tube. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray. Cut the tube into 12 pieces and place them into the pie plate close together. Repeat instructions with the other tube of crescent rolls. You will have 24 cinnamon rolls when finished.

Bake for 15-20 or until lightly browned.

To make the frosting:

4 oz Fat Free cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 T powdered sugar
1 tsp milk

Mix all together. Add more milk if the consistency is too thick.

Miss You Cupcakes

The staff around Hobart library is a-changing. We had a retirement, a promotion, and two new additions. For the retirement I made we will miss you cupcakes. She told me I could make what I wanted. That's always fun for me. To make it easy I made vanilla cupcakes and spruced them up, Oreo and Cherry. I'm excited because I think I finally found my butter cream recipe.

For the Oreo cupcakes I was able to use up some crushed Oreo pie crust I had. The cherry cupcakes didn't turn out quite like I wanted them too but they tasted yummy.


For the cupcakes:

Prepare a box of vanilla cake mix according to the package directions.


Cherry Cupcakes
a Lacey creation

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From the cupcake batter above bake 12 cupcakes according to the package directions.

Buttercream Icing
from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

This recipe only frosts 12 cupcakes decoratively, 24 normally.

2 sticks butter, softened
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2 T corn syrup

In a bowl of a stand mixer place the butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until it just starts to come together, for about a minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Increase to medium low speed and beat for about another minute. At this point it should almost be combined with a little liquid still at the bottom. Increase mixer speed to medium high and beat for another minute. When you butter looks whipped you are ready to add your powdered sugar. Add the 4 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low until the sugar is barely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bow, and increase the speed slowly to medium. Beat for a bout a minute. At this point you want to check the consistency. If the frosting is to thick you want to add a tablespoon or two of corn syrup. Beat for 30 seconds. Thick frosting works good for decorating but not frosting. Once the frosting is at the consistency you want to beat it on medium high for a minute to make the frosting nice and fluffy.

To make it cherry I added a 1/4 cup of cherry pie filling. I think I should have added the filling to the butter first. When it added it last it made the butter separate. It tasted good but it wasn't as pretty as I thought it would be.


Oreo Cupcakes
a Lacey creation

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Using the rest of the cupcake batter add 1/4 cup of crushed Oreos. bake 12 cupcakes according to the package directions.

Oreo Frosting

This recipe only frosts 12 cupcakes decoratively, 24 normally.

2 sticks butter, softened
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2 T corn syrup

In a bowl of a stand mixer place the butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until it just starts to come together, for about a minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Increase to medium low speed and beat for about another minute. At this point it should almost be combined with a little liquid still at the bottom. Increase mixer speed to medium high and beat for another minute. When you butter looks whipped you are ready to add your powdered sugar. Add the 4 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low until the sugar is barely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bow, and increase the speed slowly to medium. Beat for a bout a minute. At this point you want to check the consistency. If the frosting is to thick you want to add a tablespoon or two of corn syrup. Beat for 30 seconds. Thick frosting works good for decorating but not frosting. Once the frosting is at the consistency you want to beat it on medium high for a minute to make the frosting nice and fluffy.

Add 1/2 cup of crushed Oreo's to the frosting. I used a piping bag with a star tip to frost the cupcakes. Even though the Oreo's were crushed finely they were getting stuck in the tip. I may need a bigger star tip. Top off each cupcake with a mini Oreo.

Oatmeal Cookies with Coffee Icing

This month at the library we discussed The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. Ms. Allen wove a tale of mystery, romance, and magic. I enjoyed it but the ladies thought it was better suited for a younger crowd. That is probably why I liked it. I'm the youngest in the crowd. In the book there were coffee infused treats and these oatmeal cookies were one of them. I found the recipe on the authors website and she got it from Salad in a Jar.

These cookies are great. They are soft, slightly crisp around the edges, and a little chewy. They have great flavor. I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal cookies and I loved them.

Oatmeal Cookies with Coffee Icing
adapted from Salad in a Jar

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1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned oats (the original recipe says to use quick cooking oats but I didn't have any on hand and I think that the old fashioned oats worked out fine)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whip butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and continue beating until well mixed. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Whisk together flour, cinnamon and baking soda. Add to butter mixture. Stir in oats. Drop onto cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. I used my silicone baking mat on my cookie sheet and my medium sized cookie scoop. They spread a good bit so leave plenty of room. The original recipe says to cook for 6-8 minutes but mine took 10-12.

Coffee Flavored Powdered Sugar Glaze
Mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons black coffee (or milk if you prefer) and mix until smooth. You may need to add more liquid to make glaze spreadable.

Fake Shakes

I love Dashing Dish food website. The author Katie just knows what us foodies that are trying to lose weight and stay healthy are craving. She had me with these I Can't Believe It's Not Milkshakes. I have a terrible sweet tooth. I always have. Ice cream is one of my top favorite sweet treats. I think that these fake shakes are really good and the secret ingredient is cottage cheese. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. You read that right, cottage cheese. It makes these shakes nice and thick and you can't taste the cottage cheese, I promise. If you really don't like cottage cheese you can use yogurt. Katie has some awesome shake recipes but you can really put anything you want in them. One of the ingredients is protein powder but I have omitted the protein powder and still enjoyed the shakes.

The top picture is Frozen Hot Chocolate and the picture below has blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate syrup.

Both were very yummy. I have made just regular chocolate shakes, coffee mocha shakes, Oreo cookie shakes and I have many other combinations running in my head. You get that whole big glass for around 7 points or less depending on what you put in it. I'm in love.

Fake Shakes
adapted from Dashing Dish

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Point values depend on what you put in it

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 scoop (120 or less calories) protein powder any flavor
1 tray ice
1/2 cup water or coffee
add ins of choice (fruit, diet hot chocolate, sugar free syrups, crushed cookies)

Add cottage cheese, protein powder, ice, water/coffee, and add ins into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Twinkie Dessert

I'm always looking for easy dessert ideas and who doesn't like a Twinkie every now and then. I saw this on The Country Cook and knew I wanted to try it. I had my opportunity to make this for a party a week ago and it turned out yummy. I think next time it could used more Twinkies. I think the pudding and fruit over powers the Twinkie. Maybe Twinkie, fruit, Twinkie, pudding, and then Cool Whip. Doesn't it look pretty with the cherries and nuts on top.




Twinkie Dessert
from The Country Cook

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1 box Twinkies
4 bananas, peeled and sliced
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 box (3 oz) Instant Vanilla pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 tub Cool Whip
Maraschino cherries and chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Slice about 7 Twinkies in half. Place cream side up in a 9X13 pan. Layer sliced bananas on top of Twinkies. Spread the crushed pineapples on top of the bananas. In a bowl mix together the pudding with the milk. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. You want to thicken but still be pourable. Pour over pineapple. Now this would be where I would put more Twinkies, then do the pudding. Spread Cool Whip over pudding. On a paper towel drain several maraschino cherries. Place them in intervals over dessert and sprinkle with nuts. Cover and let sit in fridge for an hour before serving.

New York Style Cheesecake Mousse

The library recognition dinner was this past Friday and whoever wanted to bring a dessert could. Of course I jumped at the chance to make dessert. After talking it over with my co-workers they thought I should make cheesecake. But I wanted to try something new and when I saw this recipe in the January 2012 Taste of Home magazine I knew I needed to try it. I'm sure the library people are glad they are my guinea pigs. These babies turned out fantastic. I wanted to find clear plastic shot glasses to serve it in but I couldn't find any. I thought it would be really pretty but since I couldn't find what I wanted I used cupcake liners. I quadrupled the recipe since I was taking it to a rather large party. But I shouldn't have quadrupled the crust part because I have a ton of that left. I should have been able to make 48 but I was only able to make 38. The recipe below is for 12 servings.


New York Style Cheesecake Mousse
from the January 2012 Taste of Home magazine

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1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tsp. sugar
2 T butter, melted
Sliced fresh or thawed frozen strawberries, optional

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and lemon peel until fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream. Divide among 12 dessert dishes or cupcake liners. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Meanwhile, combine cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl until combined. Press to a 1/4 in. thickness on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely. To make these look pretty I put the mousse in a pastry bag with a star tip and piped it into the cupcake liners. Then I sprinkled them with the graham cracker crust and placed half a sliced strawberry on top.

Mini Peanut Butter Pies

I found this recipe on Dashing Dish and tweaked it a bit. I am so glad I found this website. She has some awesome recipes. These were very peanut buttery and yummy. Low in fat and sugar so good for diabetics. These little pies made a co-worker of mine really happy. The original recipe calls to make a normal size pie and to freeze. I might try that next time but for my work parties I made individual servings and didn't freeze. Instead of having a crust on the bottom I just sprinkled some crust on top. I thought they were very satisfying.



Mini Peanut Butter Pies
adapted from Dashing Dish

15 servings, 3 WW points per serving

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1 8oz package fat free cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 cup Splenda
1/4 cup fat free milk
8 oz container fat free Cool Whip
1 pre made Oreo pie crust

In a mixing bowl mix together the cream cheese, peanut butter, splenda, milk, and cool whip. Divide evenly between 15 cupcake liners. Cut out one serving of the Oreo pie crust and crush it up. Sprinkle evenly over the 15 cupcakes. Place in the fridge to chill.

If you want a crust take the Oreo crust and dump into a bowl and crush it up. Distribute evenly between the cupcake liners and pat down. Then distribute the peanut butter mixture. Using a crust will make the point value go up.

Strawberries and Cream Trifles

Isn't that pretty? It was so yummy and guilt free. I found this delectable treat on Dashing Dish. She really has some great healthy recipes. I made this for work today and instead of making it in a trifle bowl I decided to do individual servings. I don't have a trifle bowl but one day I would like to get one. I thought the individual servings were cute and made knowing how many points I was eating a snap. I made 15 small cups but I think I could have easily been able to make 20-24. I made angel food cake from a box and used my mini bundt cake pan. That made 24 mini angel food cakes. I did evenly distribute the cake between the 15 cups but I'm sure I could have used one cake per cup. I had left over pudding and whipped cream so I think I could have gotten 24 cups.

I think I will be making these quite often.


Strawberries and Cream Trifles
from Dashing Dish

15 servings, 3 WW points per serving
24 servings, 2 WW points per serving

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1 package sugar free fat free vanilla pudding
2 cups skim milk
1 Angel food cake, cut into 1" cubes or (1 box of Angel Food cake mix)
1 (16 oz) package fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced lengthwise
1 (16 oz) container light or fat free cool whip

Prepare pudding with milk according to package directions. To the pudding mixture, add half of the cool whip. (Set the rest of the cool whip aside to garnish on top of each trifle). Make layers in clear glass cups (or in a trifle dish/big glass bowl if you prefer) starting with the angel food cake, pudding/cool whip mix, and strawberries. Repeat until the cups (or trifle dish/bowl) are full. Garnish with the left over whipped topping, a few strawberries. Cover and chill in the fridge at least 4 hours before serving.

Homemade Twix Bars

My friend Jessica requested these. After hearing about the homemade Milky Ways she saw homemade Twix Bars somewhere and said I should try them out. They were very easy to make. I think next time I would try to make the shortbread crust thinner. I think it was too thick but they still tasted good. As a surprise for her I wrapped these tasty treats up and mailed them off to Arizona. I'll probably need to make these again soon to take to work because when they heard I made them they were very disappointed they didn't get any.



Homemade Twix Bars
from King Arthur Flour

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Shortbread layer

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all purpose flour

Caramel layer

• 2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks (I used a bag of caramel bits)
  
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream (I used water)
  

Chocolate layer

• 1 package milk chocolate chips
  

1) FOR THE CRUST: Preheat your oven to 300°F. Spray a 9" x 13" pan lightly with cooking spray, or line with parchment, and set aside.

2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. At first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together as you continue to beat at medium speed.

3) Take the dough (it will be somewhat stiff) and press it evenly into the pan. Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.

4) Prick the crust all over with a fork. The holes will allow steam to escape and the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.

5) Bake the crust until it's lightly golden brown on top and the edges are deeper golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set it aside to cool completely.

For the Caramel Layer:

In a microwave safe bowl heat the caramel and water in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Pour over the shortbread layer and put in fridge to cool and set up for 30 minutes.

For the Chocolate Layer:

In a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate chips in a 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel layer and place back in the fridge to cool and set up.

Or if you want to be more like Twix Bars cut the shortbread and caramel into bars and dip fully into the chocolate and place on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Place in fridge to harden.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I don't think I have the words to describe the insanity of these cupcakes. These are right up there with the caramel chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecakes. The frosting is just like a chocolate chip cookie. So you get a big dose of chocolate chip cookie all around and it's awesome. I have seen this recipe floating around the blogs I read for quite awhile but I wanted one that you actually baked the cookie right in the cupcake. With some searching I found what I was looking for and I adapted it to what I wanted. I made these for my bosses birthday. Her husband said that chocolate chip cookies were her favorite treat so I thought this was the perfect time to try this recipe out. She loved them and so did everyone else. The cookie dough center stays soft I think from not putting eggs or baking soda or powder into the batter. The dough doesn't rise it just stays in it cookie doughy goodness. I think I mentioned the awesome frosting. Try these soon!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
inspired by Kevin and Amanda blog and Annie's Eats

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Cookie Dough Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup caramel topping
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoon water or milk
4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini chocolate chips

For the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, combine the butter, caramel, and sugars for the cookie dough. Add the water (or milk), vanilla and blend. Mix in the flour, salt and 2 cup chocolate chips. The dough will be fairly soft. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out the cookie dough and place them on a wax paper lined plate or baking sheet. Place them in the freezer to harden. I let them freeze for 2 to 3 hours. You should at least get 24 balls.

For the Cupcakes:

1 box of white cake mix or party chip or your favorite homemade recipe

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Follow the instructions on the box to make the batter. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with the batter. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

Bake at 350 for 16-18 mins.

For the Frosting:

3 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

In a mixer combine the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the salt, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined. Add in the chocolate chips.

Frost the cupcakes. I used a pastry bag with a large round tip to frost my cupcakes.

It makes 24 cupcakes.

Vanilla Peanut Butter Pie

I love to watch Man vs. Food. I think that Adam is such a cutie, but I worry about him doing all those food challenges. I hope he eats healthy during his off time. I wouldn't mind traveling around getting to eat at the places he gets to eat though. The food looks awesome. On one episode he went and ate at restaurant that served a peanut butter pie that had vanilla pudding and whipped cream. It looked so good and I knew I wanted to recreate it. I think you know by now my love of mini foods so I made mini pies instead of a big one.

These were yummy.


Vanilla Peanut Butter Pie
slightly adapted from Recipe Source

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1/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup powder sugar
1 small package vanilla pudding
1 box refrigerated pie crusts
1 8oz Cool Whip or Homemade Whipped Cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Spray a 24 cup mini muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the pie crust a little thinner then what it is. Using a round cookie cutter or a glass cut out 12 rounds. Fit the rounds into the muffin cups. Repeat with the other pie crust. Lightly prick the crusts with a fork and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

While the crusts are baking make the vanilla pudding according to the package directions and put in the fridge to set up. In a bowl mix together the peanut butter and powder sugar until crumbly.

Once the pie crusts are baked and cooled start assembling them. Sprinkle in about a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture into each shell. Top with vanilla pudding. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with more peanut butter mixture. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies

I love Fall! The weather is starting to get colder but not so cold where I need to dig out my heavy coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and boots. Just a sweater does nicely. I can start making soups and stews. I can break out the pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin! Mmmmm, yummy! These bad boys were scrumptious. These are like eating cake and candy all rolled into one. Soooooooo Goooooood!!!
Make these today.





Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies
from Smells Like Home

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2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips with a rubber spatula.
3. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
4. To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Mini Peach Pies

I have an obsession with mini foods. I think it's the cuteness of mini foods that gets me the most. And then I like the portability of mini foods. How you don't need a fork to eat them. You just grab them with your fingers and eat. Lastly I think I love mini foods because it's okay to eat 3 or 4 or 10 of them right? Right? Well maybe not 10 but I won't tell if you won't. I made these cute little peachy pies for Carol's book discussion group last week and I heard they were a hit. I have to keep them spoiled with the homemade treats and it keeps me baking. I have often thought about starting my own Goodies to Go business so I could make some extra cash doing what I love but honestly I'm not sure where to start. How do I sell myself? How do I get myself known? What do I charge? I'm not a business person. Maybe I should ask someone who is to help with that. I just want to bake and make peoples taste buds and bellies feel good with my creations.

These pies were really good. Nice and peachy.


Mini Peach Pies
taken from Cook Au Vin

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8 cups ripe peaches, skins on (I used a 4 pound container from Sam's it was just enough)
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons butter
1 packaged refrigerated pie crust

Pit the peaches and dice into a small dice. In a large bowl, gently stir together the peaches, sugar, flour and nutmeg. Let rest for 20-30 minutes until the juices release and syrup begins to form. Place a strainer over a large soup pot and place the peach mixture into the strainer. Allow the syrup to fall into the pan, reserving the peaches. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low and cook for 10 minutes or until the liquid begins to thicken. Stir in the peaches. By adding the peaches in last, you avoid overcooking them and turning them to mush. Mine cooked for about 5 minutes and it thickened so I added the peaches and cooked for about 5 more minutes.

Off heat, add the vanilla and butter, gently stirring until the butter melts. Let cool to room temperature. The filling can be made in advance and refrigerated.

Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Unroll one of the pie crusts and using a rolling pin thin out the dough just a little bit. Cut circles big enough to fill a mini-muffin well. Gently place the circles into the muffin tin as if you were filling a pie plate. Fill with pie filling, almost to the top. With remaining dough pieces, gently cut out whatever shape you want to top it with. I cut strips for these, but you could cut out small hearts or stars. Or just cover with rounds. With one box of pie crusts I was able to make about 32 mini pies. I had enough pie filling to make a whole pie. Which in the original recipe she did. Or you could make 32 more mini pies. So you could 1/2 the filling recipe.

Bake the mini pies at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.