Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I wanted to make some cookies that I wouldn't feel as guilty about making, so I looked around at several recipes and this is what I came up with. They are surprisingly great! I don't even think that Ross will know that they are packed with good-for-you ingredients! And of course, I had to snap some pictures of my cute little satisfied customer.

You need:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup applesauce
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup raisins, dried cranberries or other dried fruit
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
  

Make it:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the applesauce, egg, then stir in the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and wheat germ; gradually stir into the creamed mixture.
4. Drop by rounded spoonfuls, a couple of inches apart, onto cookie sheet(s).
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Ross loved these. He kept saying how amazed he was that they were healthy for you and delicious! As for the baby...well, he is wearing them from head to toe so, I think it's safe to say that he approves.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
adapted from food.com

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup honey
4 eggs
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup hot water
Chocolate chips: amount to taste

Directions:

1. Stir together dry ingredients, including cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
2. Beat oil and honey together; add vanilla and eggs and beat well.
3. Add bananas and beat to combine.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with hot water; mix well after each addition.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
   
6. Spoon batter into 24 greased muffin cups; bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and test done.
7. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

A friend of mine made this the other day and HOLY MOLY. It's so fab! And easy! And amazingly bake-free!


Chocolate Eclair Cake
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 sleeve graham crackers
2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 small tub of cool whip
1/2 can chocolate fudge frosting

Directions:

-Line the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan with graham crackers, doubling up where necessary.

-In a large bowl, combine the milk and vanilla pudding until no lumps remain. Fold in the whipped topping.

-Spread a layer of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers.

-Alternate the graham cracker and pudding layers up to the top of the pan.

-Microwave frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute on half power. Pour over the top of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

Photo source: mychocolatetherapy.blogspot.com

Butterbeer Cupcakes: Harry Potter Style

I can't wait to make these for my Harry Potter loving hubby! Honestly, I have no idea what Butterbeer is...I don't think I have ever even watched an entire HP movie (HP nerds gasp!), but I saw the recipe HERE and know that he will love it. I'll post pics once I get ambitious enough to make it, and by that I mean, as soon as the baby takes a super long nap because this looks like quite an involved recipe!

Butterbeer Cupcakes
Makes 18
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For the cupcakes:
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2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
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For the ganache:
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1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream
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For the buttercream frosting:
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1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk or cream (as needed)
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For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Add your sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.
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Alternate adding your buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.
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For butterscotch filling: In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow.
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For buttercream frosting: Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed. Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache.
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Millionaire Toffee Bars

I was watching Food Network the other day---big surprise, right? I saw a recipe for Millionaire Shortbread, so.... I put my own spin on it and have made it 3 times since then! It's a huge hit at Ross' office, too! I mean, layers of shortbread, homemade caramel, chocolate and toffee! What's not to love!?!?!

You need:

Shortbread layer-
1 cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Caramel layer:
1 tbsp butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Topping:
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips
1/2 bag heath toffee crumbles

Make it:

-Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9x9 baking dish VERY WELL.

-In your food processor, combine flour, salt and sugar. Pulse to mix it. Add in butter and mix until it all comes together.

-Press into your buttered baking dish and bake until slightly golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. It will vary because of oven temps. You do not want to over cook this.


-Take out of the oven and let cool completely.

-Once the shortbread is cooled, you can make the caramel layer. In a sauce pan, melt one tbsp butter. Pour in your can of sweetened condensed milk and stir, stir, stir over medium heat. Stir and stir some more, until it thickens up and turns caramel colored. This will about about 15-20 minutes of lovin'.

-Pour your caramel over the cooled shortbread and smooth out as well as you can. Lick the spoon...and the pan...and the fingers...but wait until it's cooled or you will burn your tongue...and hand...and fingers...

-Let caramel cool at room temp until firm.

-Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave on half heat. Be careful not to burn it. I stir mine every 30 seconds. Or, if you're super-fancy-Paula-Dean-style, you can always use a double boiler. Whatev.

-Pour the chocolatey goodness over the caramel and sprinkle with toffee bits. Lightly press the toffee into the chocolate.

-Let it cool in the fridge until the chocolate is firm...not hard...just firm. Take them out and cut. You can put them back in the fridge now if you want, or you can park it in front of the tv, watch some more Food Network and eat the whole dish...up to you!

Sweet Potato Cake Bread

I made this the other night and Ross had no idea he was eating whole wheat flour and sweet potatoes! (This may or may not have been to do with the cream cheese icing on top)It tastes a whole lot like carrot cake and Ross couldn't get enough! Yay!

You need---

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I got mine at Sprout's)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup water

1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Cream cheese icing (recipe follows)

How to make it--

-Combine sugar and oil; beat well. Add eggs and beat. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with water. Stir in sweet potatoes and chopped nuts.

-Pour batter into well greased 9x5 inch loaf pan (or 2 small loaf pans). Bake at 350 degrees F for about one hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. This will not rise up as much as you would expect. It pretty much stays flat on top, not rounded.

-Let cool and top with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

You need--

1/2 stick room temperature butter

1/2 block cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

splash of vanilla extract


How to make it--

-Cream together butter, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth.

-Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing as you combine. Continue adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. This may be slightly more or less than 2 cups.

Ice Cream Cone Cup Cakes (Cone Cakes)

Wow- I have got to think of a better name than that for this cheerful little treat!
edit: Ross just named them Cone Cakes :)


We had a BBQ at our house today (for our amazing MOPS mommas) so I had a great excuse to give these little puppies a try! Plus, tomorrow is my birthday, so the calories didn't count.

Ingredients
1 boxed cake mix, prepared
24 sugar ice cream cones
Icing
SpRiNkLeS!
Special equipment: 2 large disposable aluminum pans

1- Cut 12 holes in the bottom of each pan, large enough to securely hold the cones. Mine were far from perfect circles. Turn the pan upside down on a baking sheet. This is to give it more stability and to catch any drippies. Place one cone in each hole.


2- Fill each cone a little bit more than half way. DO NOT OVER FILL. Trust me...huge messes will result.

3- Bake according to box directions for cupcakes, adding about 5-7 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. I was concerned that the cones would burn, but they don't.

4- After cupcakes are cooled, ice and add sprinkles! Lots and lots of sprinkles!


5- Listen to everyone tell you that you're a genius...
even though you know the cupcakes were super easy to make!

PS: Isn't he the cutest little thing ever? His smile was contagious!

Sopapilla Chips

I absolutely love sopapillas. But, geeze, could they be any worse for you? I mean, deep fried tortillas! Really? So, I wanted to make something with just as much flavor, but way less fat. I came up with baked sopapilla chips! Yummy!


Ingredients
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
5 flour tortillas
Honey for drizzle or dipping

Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with melted butter. Stack tortillas and cut into quarters. In a shallow bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Dredge both sides of the tortillas pieces in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Use your fingers and press sugar mixture into tortillas. Place tortillas on lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 425 for about 10-12 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve while warm, drizzled with honey. Or, serve beside a small bowl of honey for dipping. Or...if you feel really frisky, eat over the sink while you drizzle and drip honey everywhere, like we did!

Pie Crust

When my sister was here recently, we made a peach pie with homemade pie crust. I've decided that homemade crust is FAR better than store bought and it costs way less to make it yourself. Plus, when you use your food processor it is super-duper easy!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter chilled and diced
1/4 c ice water

Place flour and salt in food processor. Pulse until mixed. Add butter to flour mixture and pulse until it forms coarse crumbles like this.


Add water very slowly (like, one tbsp at a time) while the processor is on. Add water until the pie crust forms a ball. It's so cool!


Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch. I like to bake my pie crust for about 5 minutes at 350 before filling it. This way I'm sure it won't be soggy. Then, fill and bake according to pie directions.

Moose Munch

I've been a baking machine lately! I loooove to put the baby down for a nap and then cook up a storm of sweets for Ross. This week I've been on a caramel corn kick. I started making if a few years ago and just remembered it! It's SO easy!

*The caramel that this makes is about the equivalent of super glue. You don't want it to get onto your counters or floor. It's a pain to clean up. Hot water works wonders.

Ingredients
1 bag of popped popcorn (not the super-buttery stuff)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lite brown syrup
1 stick real butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dried Cranberries (optional and amount to taste)
Pecan bits (optional and amount to taste)
White chocolate (optional and amount to taste)


Directions
-Put popcorn into a really large bowl. Be sure to pick out the un-popped kernels.
-In a microwavable bowl, put the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Microwave for 30 seconds, take out and stir.
-Microwave for 2 minutes. Take out and stir.
-Microwave for another 2 minutes, take out and stir. Then add the baking soda and vanilla. At this point, the caramel will bubble up like crazy. Keep stirring. Stir until it gets a little bit lighter in color and is well mixed. You'll know when.
-Pour all over popcorn and mix well.

If you like chewy caramel popcorn, follow these directions: Stir in cranberries, pecan bits and drizzle with chocolate. Spread onto a cookie sheet or aluminum foil. Do not, like me, spread it onto wax paper. The caramel is too hot and melts it. Trust me. Let popcorn cool and devour!

OR

If you like crunchy-crispy caramel popcorn follow these directions. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Spread onto baking sheet and bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Take out and drizzle with white chocolate. Let cool. Enjoy!

Holiday Treats

I was looking through my past blog posts to find some ideas for holiday treats to give away. Here's a list of what I found.

Thin Mint Knockoffs
Cakies
Oreo Truffles
Haystacks
Butterscotch Bars
White chocolate and cranberry cookies
Moose Munch Caramel Popcorn

Frozen Pink Lemonade Pie

Disclaimer: This is NOT my recipe in any way, shape or form. I totally stole it from my best friend, Sarah. Thanks, love!

Image Source

Ingredients for the crust
9 graham crackers
1/2 stick melted butter
2 tbsp sugar

Ingredients for the filling
6 oz pink lemonade concentrate (1/2 can)
1 small container Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Juice from one lime
Pink or red food coloring

Directions
Crush graham crackers until fine and mix with sugar. Stir in melted butter and press into bottom of 8x8 dish to form crust.

Mix together all filling ingredients with an electric mixer. (I tried to do it by hand and couldn't get it smooth enough.) Pour on top of crust. Cover and freeze for a few hours before serving. Be absolutely certain to lick all dirty spoons and bowls; you will not regret it :)

Ice Cream Casserole

Ingredients
*12 peanut butter ice cream sandwiches (or plain ones if you can't find PB)
*1 small tub cool whip
*1/2 bag of Heath chips (by the chocolate chips at the store)
*caramel topping
*chocolate syrup

Directions
*Layer 6 ice cream sandwiches, a layer of cool whip, half of the Heath and a sprinkle of both caramel and chocolate sauce in a glass freezable dish. Repeat, layering the remaining ingredients, ending with a pretty drizzle of the caramel and chocolate. Cover and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.

Banana *Ice Cream*

Victory is mine! Bwahahaha. (that's my evil laugh) Ross has been eating more fruit than he has in his entire life! I win!!!

Here's what I've learned. If you want your husband (or probably any 5 year old child) to eat lots of fruit, all you have to do is freeze it, call it ice cream and viola!

Banana *Ice Cream*

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas (they need to be really ripe but not solid brown and mushy)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Splash of milk
Sugar to taste (depending on sweetness of bananas)
*Handful of peanut butter cups, optional but yummy!

Directions
Freeze bananas. Peel and chop bananas into pieces. Place all ingredients in food processor. Blend until mixture comes together and enjoy!

Watermelon and Peach Sorbet {no ice cream maker req'd}

This week I have been on a mission....a mission to get my husband to eat fruit, lots and lots of fruit. So far, so good!!


Watermelon and Peach Sorbet

Ingredients
6 cups ripe watermelon, cut into cubes
juice from one lime
3 peaches, cut into cubes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup

Directions
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until liquefied. Pour liquid into a freezer safe, covered dish. Freeze until solid. I froze it overnight. Once frozen, let melt a little bit and cut into squares. Place squares into food processor and blend until it reaches sorbet consistency. Now, sit back and watch your husband gobble it up!

{3 ingredient} Mixed Berry Sorbet

I made this tonight and WOW was it easy!

Ingredients
1 16 oz bag frozen mixed berries (or berries of your choice)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions
Pulse frozen berries in food processor until grainy like corn meal. Mix sugar into water until dissolved. With food processor still going, pour in sugar mixture and pulse into incorporated. Put into glass container with air tight lid and freeze for 30 minutes before serving. Yummy!!

Journey of the brownies

Here's my thinking...Brownies = good. Candy = good. Candy brownies = double good. Ross was eager to help me with the taste testing part :)

So, to begin my journey I started with Milk Dud brownies. In my first attempt, I didn't bake them half way and the Milk Duds sunk straight to the bottom and formed caramel-bottom brownies, not my intent. Here's the revised version.
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Milk Dud Brownies

Box of your favorite brownie mix
Milk Duds (as many as you'd like)

Mix brownie mix according to directions. Bake for half of the time stated on box. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with Milk Duds. Stick brownies back in oven for remaining time. (This way the candy doesn't sink to the bottom)
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Next, I wanted to try Smores Brownies. We had those tonight. Yummy!


Ingredients
Box of your favorite brownie mix
3 Graham crackers
1 really big Hershey's Chocolate bar (or 2 regular ones)
10 large marshmallows

Directions
Mix: Mix up brownie batter as according to box, using the cake brownie method on the box. It usually calls for one additional egg. (You'll do this because the chocolate bar makes them plenty oooohy-goooey.) Line an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil and spray generously with non-stick spray.

Assemble: Pour about 1/2 of the brownie batter into pan. Next, cover batter with graham crackers. You may have to break them to make them fit. Follow with the chocolate and then the marshmallows. Be sure that the marshmallows are on top because they'll get all nice and toasty that way (and the chocolate needs to be away from the batter for the batter to bake correctly). Finally, cover with remaining brownie batter.

Bake and devour: Bake according to box. Let cool for about 15 minutes and remove foil from pan. Remove foil form sides of brownies and continue to let cool for about 30 more minutes before cutting. You'll need milk for the devouring part of this!
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Next up, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Brownies! I'm basically going to do the exact same thing as Milk Dud brownies. I'll let you know how they turn out.