SMORE Bites

 Hello, summer!  I actually made these LAST year, but....I got behind in life and I'm just now posting.  There were so easy to put together and really delicious and a little bit LESS messy way to enjoy a smore.  

Ingredients:  1 c. graham cracker crumbs, 4 T melted butter, 1/4 c. powered sugar, 12 marshmallows (cut in half), Reese's peanut butter cup or Hershey chocolate.  

Instructions:  

1.  Heat over to 350.

2.  Mix the crumbs, sugar, and butter.  Spoon the into 24 mini muffin cups and press them to the bottom and sides like a small pie shell.  

3.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove them and place a Reese's peanut butter cup or 2 piece of Hershey chocolate squares in the 'cup.'  Cover with the 1/2 marshmallow (cut side down).  

4.  Place over on broil and put them back in for 1-2 minutes.  Remove them as they start to brown.  

5.  I added a little melted chocolate to the top as well when they cooled.  

6.  Eat and repeat.  

Strawberry Pecan Pretzel Salad

The fact that this is called a 'salad' would explain a lot about me.  There are much prettier pictures around the net, but the fact that I remembered to take a picture at this stage in my life was a win.  This is like one of my favorite strawberry desserts I've been making for years, but it adds pecans, and is all mixed together instead of layered (which can be a bugger).  This recipe can from thegunnysack.  

It's a great sweet dessert for summer, or a great 'salad' if you are willing to stretch the word.  I am.  

Strawberry Pecan Pretzel Salad

Ingredients:  1 c. crushed pretzels, 1/2 c. chopped pecans, 3/4 c. brown sugar, 3/4 c. butter (melted), 3 c. strawberries (diced), 8 oz cream cheese (softened), 1/2 c. sugar, 1 t. vanilla, 3 c. cool whip

Instructions:  

1.  Mix together the crushed pretzels, chopped pecans, brown sugar and melted butter.  

2.  Spread the mix on a large baking sheet with sides.  Bake at 400 for 7 min.  Cool and break into small pieces.  Set aside.  

3.  Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  

4.  Fold in the cool whip.  Cover and place in the fridge to chill.  

5.  Before serving stir in the strawberries and pretzel mix.  

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

This past week was the annual cookie recipe exchange at my work.  More on that soon, but in the meantime, I made these cookies to take this year (original recipe is from the PioneerWoman).  They were a little drier than my usual cookie, so underbake if you like a gooey cookie.

BUT they were good, and the subtle chocolate and mint went so well together, and they sure were pretty!
Here is a free printable for the recipe.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

If you have a sweet tooth, this is the pie for you. It also doesn't hurt that it's super simple to throw together.  I took it this week for Easter and nobody complained.  It will for sure stay on the rotation.  

Peanut Butter Pie

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Ingredients:  Premade Oreo Pie Crust 1 c. creamy peanut butter, 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese (softened), 1/1 4 c. powdered sugar, 1 8 oz container cool whip (thawed), 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips.  

Instructions:  Use a beater to combine the peanut butter and cream cheese.  Once it's well combined, add the powdered sugar.  Last, add the cool whip.  Pour into your pie shell.  Top with mini chocolate chips and chill for at least an hour before serving.  

King Cake Done Easy....and Delicious

Last year the leadership team decided to serve king cake via a cart in the hall (someone had given me a bunch of beads that we wanted to pass out, and the ideas was born).  The thing about a king cake is it can be kind of dry....at least in North Texas.  So, the counselor and I found this recipe for an easy sounding cake and let me tell you, not only was in easy to throw together, we had so many people stop us and tell us how delicious and moist it was...this happened over and over again, so I'm not the only one who took this ever important poll.  The original recipe is from plainchicken, we only made one change-we bought additional icing to throw on top.

Ingredients
2 cans (12.4 oz) of canned cinnamon rolls, 8 oz pkg cream cheese (softened), 2/3 c. sugar, 2 eggs, 1 t. vanilla, 1 c. milk, purple, green, and yellow sprinkles, cream cheese icing (if you want)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 pan.
2.  Cut each roll into 1/4s.  Place in the bottom of the pan.  Set the icing aside.
3.  Beat cream cheese and sugar.  DON'T skip this step or you will get a strange beaded consistency that will taste well, but look strange.
4.  Add egg and vanilla and mix well.  Pour over the cinnamon roll pieces.
5.  Bake 35 minutes.  Let cook 5 minutes and then pour icing over the top.  We added about half a can of additional cream cheese frosting from a jar.  Sprinkle and serve.

Pumpkin Brownies

 I was just going through pictures on my phone and I found these brownies I made for a few of the mentees at work.  I wanted to try these out, mainly b/c I wanted to use the little paper envelopes I found at Joann this past fall and needed something that would fit inside the cuteness.  It turns out, the recipe was good too.  Before I let go over November and truly embrace December, how about one more 'fall' recipe b/c I think pumpkin shouldn't be limited by seasons.  The original recipe is a simple one from Betty Crocker.

 PUMPKIN BROWNIES

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INGREDIENTS

FILLING:  3 oz cream cheese (softened), 1/2 c. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix), 1 egg, 3 T sugar, 1 t cinnamon, 1/4 t. ground nutmeg

BROWNIES:  I used the fudgy brownie mix, but the original recipe calls for the supreme mix.  Water, Veg. Oil, and eggs the boxed mix calls for.  

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Spray 9x9 inch pan with cooking spray.  

2.  Beat together the filling ingredients.  Set aside.  

3.  Make browning batter according to box directions.  

4.  Spread 2 14 c. brownie batter in pan.  Spoon filling by T evenly over batter.  Spoon remaining browning batter over filling.  Use a knife to swirl together the two with a few swirls to create a marble design.  

5.  Bake for 38-42 minutes (or until toothpick inserted 2 inches in the middle comes out clean).  Cool 30 minutes.  Place in fridge for 2 hours to cool completely.  Cut into squares.  Store in fridge.  

Caramel Cookie Bars

I like to eat icing with my icing.  In other words, I have a sweet tooth.  These bars are so sweet they even made me pucker in the best way possible.  The caramel centers reminded me of some toffee treats I had in Ireland, but the sweet cookie dough were all American.  This will definitely stay in my rotation.  I say caramel is the candy of September, but I think I can convince my theme loving self to let this recipe make an appearance in other months.  I found the original recipe at A Spice Perspective.

Caramel Cookie Bars

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Ingredients:

Cookie Layer:  1 c. butter (softened, but not melted), 1 c. packed brown sugar, 1/2 c. sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 t. vanilla, 1 t. kosher salt, 1 t. baking soda, 2 1/2 c. flour, 2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Caramel Layer:    10 oz soft caramels (unwrapped), 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions:  

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil on the bottom and up the sides.  Spray it liberally with cooking spray.  

2.  Use an electric mixer to mix the butter and sugars until fluffy (about 2 minutes).  Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda.  

3.  Add the flour a little at a time.  

4.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  

5.  Press half the dough into the bottom of the pan.  

6.  In a medium sauce pan mix the sweetened condensed milk and unwrapped caramels over medium.  Stir until the caramels are melted and the filling is smooth.  

7.  Pour your caramel mix over the pressed cookie dough.  

8.  Drop the remaining cookie dough in small clumps over the top of the caramel mix.

9.  Bake for 30 minutes (until the center is set).
10.  Cool completely, lift the bars out of the pan with the edges of the foil and cut into squares.
*The original recipe says you can freeze these.  Thaw individually and eat them later.  As if any of these will make it to my freezer....

(Vegan) Peach Pecan Crispy Cobbler

Last summer I was armed with some Texas pecans and peaches when I was invited to my brother's place for dinner.  He's vegan and I told him I'd bring the dessert, so I had to combine all of that together.  I found this recipe at Sally'sBakingAddiction and by substituting the butter for nondairy I was able to make this vegan.  The original recipe says it serves 8-12, but in reality-maybe 6 could eat unless your guest are all on a major diet.
It really was a delicious cobblerish dessert, and I loved the pecan and oat topping.  I used a combination of 'regular' and white peaches b/c I ran low on the regular and it tasted great.  I also had frozen some of my peaches in advance, and it baked up just fine, so fresh or frozen-I think you'll be pleased with the outcome.

Peach Pecan Crispy Cobbler

Ingredients:
FILLING:  5 c. thinly peeled and sliced peaches (about 5-6 medium peaches), 1/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. sugar, 1/4 t. salt, 1/2 t. vanilla
TOPPING:  3/4 c. brown sugar, 2/3 c. flour, 2/3 c. oats, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. salt, 3/4 c. pecans (chopped), 1/2 c. dairy free butter (you can also use regular butter if you aren't trying to make it vegan).
Instructions:
1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8 or 9 inch square (or circle) baking dish.
2.  Make the filling by gently tossing all the ingredients.  Spoon into the prepared dish.
3.  Make the topping.  Stir together all the dry ingredients, make sure to get out all the brown sugar lumps.  Add the butter and work it through the dry ingredients with a fork until it's crumbly.  Evenly sprinkle over peaches.
4.  Bake 40-45 inutes until the top is golden brown and peach juice is bubbling on the edges.  Cool slightly before serving.
*This is also great with (vegan) vanilla ice cream.

Apple Crisp (Vegan)

I've mentioned a time or two everyone in my family seems to have their own dietary restrictions.  My only restriction is I only want to eat tasty food, so I'm always trying to find a tasty recipe that meets those other needs.  I found this Apple Crisp recipe recently via TasteBetterFromScratch and I just tweaked it a bit to make it dairy free (vegan).  It was super delicious regardless of whether that is something you are looking at.  In the future, I'd probably add more of the topping, but that's b/c I like sweets with my sweets!  I'm going to type out the original recipe below, if you want the dairy-just substitute the margarine for butter, and the almond milk for milk-the same ratio as listed.
Ingredients:  
For Crumb Topping:  1/3 c. (dairy free) margarine (cut into small pieces), 1/2 c. oats, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/4 t. cinnamon, dash of salt, 1/2 c. flour
For Apple Filling:
3-4 large apples (I used a mix of different kinds of sweet and sours, peel them and slice them thinly), 3 T. margarine (melted), 2 T flour, 1 T lemon juice, 3 T. almond milk, 1/2 t. vanilla, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/2 t. cinnamon, dash of salt.
Ice Cream (dairy free) for topping.
Instructions:
1.  Heat oven to 375.
2.  Combine the crumb topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until it looks like small crumbs.  Place in fridge while you make the filling.
3.  Peel and slice the apples.
4.  In a separate bowl mix the melted butter, flour, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla.  Pour this mix over the apples and top to coat.
5.  Place apples into an 8x8 pan.  Top with crumb coating.
6.  Bake 30-35 minutes (it should be golden brown)
7.  Let it cool for 10 minutes and serve up with ice cream.

Strawberry Crinkle Cookies

Last year I needed a dessert to take to a lunch for Valentine's Day.  I had made a version of these cookies once as Christmas Grinch Cookies, but the strawberry flavor is my new favorite....and I'm one of those 'take it or leave it' kind of strawberry fans....I usually leave it.
Not to mention-this has 4 ingredients....I've been known to miss an ingredient or three while cooking, so this is one of those I can be distracted and get right-which is a win.
So....if easy, affordable, and tasty is on the list-Strawberry Crinkle Cookies for the win.

Strawberry Crinkle Cookies

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Ingredients:  1 box of strawberry cake mix, 8 oz tub of whipped topping (thawed), 1 egg, powdered sugar, sprinkles (optional)
Instructions:
1.  Mix the egg, dry mix, and pudding.
2.  Roll 1 inch balls in powdered sugar (they will be very sticky).
3.  Place on greased cookie sheet (or silpat lined pan).  Add sprinkles.
4.  Cook for about 12 minutes (until the edges are firm, but not brown).

*Makes 2 dozen.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

If you have never had sopapilla cheesecake you haven't really lived.  This is a staple at a lot of events around here at least.  It has some really simple ingredients, but it's about the best thing you can do with canned crescent rolls!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

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Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese (softened), 1 c. white sugar, 1 t. vanilla, 2 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent rolls, 3/4 c. white sugar, 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/2 c. butter (room temp), 1/4 c. honey
Instructions:  
1. Heat over to 350.  Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2.  Beat the cream cheese with 1 c. of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
3.  Unroll a can of crescent roll dough and use a rolling pin to shape each piece in 9x13 inch rectangle.  Press the seems together.  Put 1 in the bottom of the pan.
4.  Evenly spread the cream cheese mix over the first crescent triangle.  Top with remaining piece of crescent dough.
5.  Crumble together sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Dot the mix over the top of the top crescent roll.
6.  Bake for about 30 minutes (crescent dough should be puffed and golden brown).
7.  Drizzle with honey (I used about half the amount).  Cool completely.  Cut into 12 squares.

Sugar Cookie Truffles

 In my defense....of those who celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving.....I posted this a year ago-I just set it out into the world of cyberspace b/c my blog was too full last December when I made these.  OK...I totally celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving, but still....that's not my reason this time!
I put together these little treats for a potluck.  I thought they sounded festive and fun...and it turns out you can add tasty to that list.

 These are so simple to make.  It required three ingredients-four if you add sprinkles.  I used some slice and bake cookies to make some sugar cookies.  I took 12 of those cookies (about 2 inches across) and crumbled them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese.  You roll them into balls (I got about 16 1 inch balls out of mine).  I put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes (or place them in the fridge for an hour or so).

Melt white chocolate, dip, and sprinkle quickly (it hardens really fast).

Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake

Last year some of the gals at work decided to do a friendsgiving after a long day of working our school's version of the Turkey Trot.  We usually don't get to eat until almost 2 pm, so we've got the appetite for a potluck!  I decided to try out Paula Dean's version of the gooey pumpkin cake.  Trying her chocolate chip gooey butter cake at her restaurant in Savannah it still one of my favorite culinary adventures.  This dessert did NOT disappoint.  I love the yellow cake crust...and pumpkin is always a good idea!  

Gooey Butter Pumpkin Cake

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Ingredients for Crust:  1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) yellow cake mix, 1 egg, 8 T of butter (melted)

Ingredients for Filling:  8 oz pkg cream cheese softened, 15 oz can of pumpkin, 3 eggs, 1 t. vanilla, 8 T of butter (melted), 16 oz powdered sugar.  

Whipped Cream

Instructions:  

1.  Heat the oven to 350.

2.  Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter.  Mix well with an electric mixer.  Press into the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch pan.  

3.  In a separate bowl.  Beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.  Last add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix well.  

4.  Spread pumpkin filling over the cake mix.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.  The center should be a little gooey when you pull it out of the oven.  

5.  Serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Speaking of pie....oh wait....we weren't, but we should be!  The truth is, I made this pie last Thanksgiving, but by that time I had already posted a lot in advance, so....I decide it to push it towards the end of the summer as we are gearing up for a new season of fall holidays and everything pie.
Traditionally we have apple pie and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but the third (or fourth) dessert is sometimes a toss up.  I was trying to think of something new and ran across this recipe from Toll House.  It's a sweet dessert, but it really was delicious with ice cream.  It's a cross between a cookie, but with a denser texture.  Fall's version of a Pazookie if you will.

Chocolate Chip Pie

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Ingredients:  1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie shell, 2 eggs, 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 stick of butter (softened to room temp), 1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips, 1 c. chopped walnuts, vanilla ice cream
Instructions:
1.  Head oven to 325.
2.  Beat the eggs on high until light and foamy.  Add the flour and both sugars.  Mix until combined.  Add the softened butter and mix one more time until completely combined.
3.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts until evenly throughout batter.  Spoon into prepared pie crust.
4.  Bake for 50-60 minutes (until a toothpick in the center comes out clean).  Cool for 30 minutes.  Serve with ice cream.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

They say your taste buds change every seven years.  I don't know who 'they' are or if it's true, but lemon is a a taste I definitely acquired in my 30's....unfortunately I haven't dropped any of the things I like, so I just keep adding....I'd like to subtract something-like chocolate.
I digress.  Anyway, I was trying to think of a good dessert to bring for a pot luck style that included lasagna, and besides some obvious Italian choices (that don't travel well)...lemon seemed like a good choice.  I found a recipe for lemon bars where you make your own sugar cookies, but....I simplified it and just used a tube of store bought cookie dough and it was delicious.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

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Ingredients:  tube of sugar cookie dough (divided), 8 oz of cream cheese (softened), 1/4 c. lemon juice, 2 T lemon zest (divided), 1/2 c. sugar
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350.
1.  Take a 9x9 dish and cover the bottom with foil.  Spray foil with cookie spray.
2.  Press half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the pan evenly to form a crust.  Bake for about 25 minutes (until golden brown) in a 350 degree oven.
3.  While the crust cools beat together the cream cheese, lemon juice, 1 T of lemon zest, and sugar.  Pour over cooled crust.
4.  Top lemon mix with the second half of the cookie dough.  Crumble and spread all over the lemon filling evenly.  Bake at 350 for another 25 minutes (until cookie is browned on top).
5.  Top with last 1 T. of lemon zest.  Cool and slice.
*It took me two lemons to get enough lemon juice and zest for the dish.  
*By using the foil, you can lift it out of the pan easily for slicing.  

(Vegan) Oatmeal Cake

     I'm not a vegan, I just play one on holidays when the 'real' vegans come to eat with us.  My goal is to turn some traditional recipes vegan without sacrificing the taste.  This cake is one of those examples.  I've found that there are some great ways to turned baked goods vegan with a few substitutions.  This guy definitely isn't low calorie, but come on-when you read the word 'cake' that probably wasn't the first thing on your mind.
     If you want to try out this cake, but don't want to make it vegan I'll leave some notes in the actual recipe for what I substituted.  Just fyi-the 'icing' isn't your traditional icing-it's more like a sauce.
     All of this to say-this cake was a big hit with the vegans and the non-vegans who didn't know any substitutions had been made, so that's a win in my book!

Oatmeal Cake

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Cake Ingredients:  2 1/2 c. boiling water, 2 c. quick cooking oats, 1 c. margarine (*or butter for nonvegan), 2 c. sugar, 2 c. brown sugar, 2 t. vanilla, 1 c. non-sweet applesauce (*nonvegan this takes the place of 4 eggs), 3 c. all purpose flour, 2 t. soda, 1 t. salt, 1 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg

Cake Instructions:  

1.  Pour boiling water over oats.  Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.  Beat butter until creamy and slowly add sugars and beat in until fluffy.  Add in vanilla and eggs.  Add oats to mix.  

2.  Add flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  

3.  Spray 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Cool.

Icing Ingredients:  1 c. melted margarine, 2 c. brown sugar, 6 T.  coconut milk (*nonvegan use evaporated milk), 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans, 3 c. flaked coconuts

Icing Instructions:  

1.  Mix everything together and spread it over the cake. 

2.  Place cake under broiler in over until frosting becomes bubbly. 

Strawberry and Banana Fluff

I pretend when you stick strawberries and bananas in something it's practically a fruit salad.  And hey, yogurt is good for you, right?  Whatever-even if there was nothing redeemable about the health of this dish, it's super delicious and the perfect little scoop after a nice dinner from the grill.  Really, that's just an excuse-the first time I made this it just turned into my lunch the next day because I walk a fine line when it comes to dessert-ish dishes and if I can redeem it-I'll count it.  Try it because it's yum.

Ingredients:  1 box (3.4 oz) cheesecake or white chocolate pudding mix, 12 oz whipped topping, 18 oz strawberry yogurt, 1 lb strawberries (sliced), 3 bananas (sliced just before serving), 3 c. marshmallows (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Mix yogurt, whipped topping, and pudding mix.  Place in the fridge for at least an hour.

2.  Just before serving, add in strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows

Cadberry Dip

 I LOVE Cadbury eggs.  A lot.  I discovered that they sell a chocolate bar with Cadbury filling down the bar of chocolate.  I bought as many as I had pounds at the time, and I don't understand why they don't sell them here.  Why?  I read about this time here and I had to give it a go.  I brought it to a work event and I think we all agreed it's a keeper.  So, if you love Cadbury Eggs....give it a go.

Cadbury Egg Dip

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Ingredients:  9 Cadbury Eggs, 8 oz cream cheese (softened), 1/2 c. butter (softened), 1/4 c. brown sugar, 3/4 c. powdered sugar, 2 t vanilla, 1 t. salt, chocolate graham crackers
Instructions:
1.  With a beater, mix cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until well blended.

 2.  Roughly chop up 8 of the eggs and stir them into the mix.  Place the 9th egg on top.

3.  Chill and serve with chocolate graham crackers.

No Bake Monster Bites

I needed something sweet....I use that term "needed" very loosely, but the struggle was real in the moment.  I didn't want to invest a lot of time, but I wanted something homemade.
These little monster bites are so easy to put together and they really are tasty without a ton of different ingredients.  I recommend chilling for an hour or so before eating, but they are really delicious straight from the spoon as well.  Whether they chill are not often depends on my craving.  I like to half the recipe (half makes about 10).
So, for my future self when I'm craving something quick, easy, and tasty and forget everything I ever knew in my pursuit of hunger quenching desserts-self, make these again.

No Bake Monster Bites

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Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. quick oats, 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. honey, 1/3 c. mini M&Ms, 1/3 c. mini chocolate chips
Instructions:  
Mix, Roll, Chill for about an hour (until the peanut butter is more firm).

Caramel Brownie Bites

The past five (or more?) years my work got together for a cookie/recipe exchange  I work with a lot of folks, so baking a certain number of cookies for us each to go home with a platter/selection is a little unrealistic, especially when you are single!  It became a recipe exchange instead.  We bake two of each cookie and place them in baggies (as cute or plain as you feel like being) with an attached recipe.  It's been a great way to gain some really fun new recipes through the years.  Last year I tried one I found on brucrew that seemed simple, and turned out to be delicious.  Here are my bagged cookies ready to go.  

Print Recipe Card Here  If you want a copy of the recipe.  Click the link (it's a free website I used to share uploads.

Basically-you choose your favorite brownie mix, and bake it up (using the recipe with the * next to it).

You cut it into 35 pieces after it cools, and then wrap each little square around a Rolo.

Chill for an hour or so in the fridge.  Then melt almond bark.  Roll each brownie ball into the almond bark.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Harden.  Bite.  Eat.  Repeat.