Butterfinger Dessert - October 14, 2012

My parents have made this for a dish to pass for as long as I can remember. It's super sweet, but it's yummy. It's better if you make it and let it sit overnight so all the flavors melt into the angel food cake. MMMM!

Butterfinger Dessert

Ingredients:

2 angel food cakes (We used to use just 1, but the stores make them so small now. Boo!)

6 crushed Butterfingers (Do you love Butterfinger? Use more then!)

1 pt. Cool Whip. (Is that the big one? Use the big one)

1/4 C. butter

2 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Fold Cool Whip into mixture. Put a layer of crumbled cake into a serving dish/bowl, then a layer of the cream mixture, then a layer of the crushed Butterfinger. Repeat layers until you can't repeat no more. Make sure to end with a layer of crushed Butterfinger. Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight before serving.

Husband Review:

Dan is a big fan of this. His mom used to make it when he was younger too, so it holds some sentimental value to him. I make it once a year every year for his birthday. This is super sweet, so you shouldn't eat too much of it, but it has been known to be eaten at one sitting by my husband. He didn't feel too great after that.

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies - October 7, 2012

Pinterest, Pinterest, how I love you, oh Pinterest!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets (I found this in my grocery store near the hot chocolate mixes.)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups all purpose flour

1 bag Kraft Caramels (14 oz)

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment. (You really need the parchment!)
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• With your mixer (or an energetic spoon) cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.
• Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Refrigerate for about an hour. (If you're really impatient you don't have to do this, but it makes it so much easier to work with.)
• When you are ready to bake, unwrap your caramels. 
• Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut. (I used a rounded cookie scoop-full. My scoop holds about a Tablespoon.)
• Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
• Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don't over-bake! Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they'll pop right off.
• Yield: about 4 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies (or how many caramels have been snitched out of your bag before you begin.) Store in an airtight container.

 

Remember the little note above saying that you "really need parchment paper"?? Well, it's not a lie. The caramel can ooze out of some cookies and if you'd ever worked with caramel (or ate caramel) before, you know it's super sticky. If you don't use parchment paper, you'll regret it. Check out the oozing below.

Husband Review:

Oooh, these were good and the hubby really enjoyed them. I originally made them for my friend to take up north with him to his parent's house, but he forgot, so we had to eat them. On the site that posted the recipe, there is a picture of a cookie sitting on the lip of a cup of tea. Imagine, if you will, sitting by the fireplace with a cup of tea (or apple cider, or coffee, or hot chocolate) and setting a cookie on the lip so that the steam from the drink warms the cookie and makes the caramel on the inside a bit melty. These are the perfect fall cookie. MAKE THEM!

 

Dirt Dessert - September 30, 2012

Dirt dessert - easy, messy, and kids love it! Not to mention adults that are kids at heart. :)

Dirt Dessert

Ingredients:

1 small tub of Cool Whip

1 box instant chocolate pudding mix

1 package Oreos (original or Double Stuf - your choice)

2 cups milk

gummy worms (or other creepy crawly gummy candy)

Directions:

Mix chocolate pudding mix and milk together until smooth and there are no lumps. Fold in the Cool Whip. (If you don't want to use the whole tub of Cool Whip, it's ok. You can even do without the Cool Whip if you prefer. I think I will next time) Put chocolate pudding in the fridge to chill and set up a bit while you do the next step. Now, open your package of Oreos, eat a couple to make sure they taste ok ;) and then put the rest in a gallon size baggie and smash into little pieces. (My little 2-year-old helper liked doing this part.) Now to layer. Take some cookies and layer them on the bottom of a trifle dish (if you use a trifle dish, you're going to want to at least double the recipe) or single serve clear dixie cups. Then pudding layer, then cookie, then pudding until you run out of both... ending with cookie layer. Garnish with gummy worms (my daughter also loved helping me with this part, but snuck about half of the worms into her mouth.) Store in fridge.

Daughter Review: 

My little girl help me make these and she's two... this has everything she could want in a dessert: chocolate pudding, gummies, cookies, and it was messy. I love dirt dessert. I love pudding and Oreos so the two together can only be yummier. I'm only a little ashamed to admit that I ate a couple for breakfast. ;)

Rich Triple Thick Chocolate Cake - September 23, 2012

I was looking for a yummy chocolate cake recipe for my father-in-law and uncle-in-law's birthday, and this is what I ended up going with. It looked good, and I was only missing a few ingredients, so I went with it. I found this recipe on the Just a Pinch site.

Rich Triple Thick Chocolate Cake

Ingredients: 6 eggs 2 sticks butter 3 c sugar 1 c plain yogurt 2 Tbsp evaporated milk 3 c all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 c cocoa powder 1 1/2 c chocolate chips ICING: 1 c butter 3 c powdered sugar 3/4 c cocoa powder 4 Tbsp evaporated milk 1 Tbsp butternut flavoring

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 325 2. Cream together eggs, softened butter, sugar, evaporated milk and yogurt. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Mix that into wet mixture. When all blended stir in choc chips. Pour into buttered bundt pan ( I can see where this would do well cooked in springform pan). Place in oven and cook for 80-85 min. Check towards the end to see when toothpick comes clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for at least 30 min. 3. Mix together all the icing ingredients. (I didn't have any butternut flavoring so I used 1 tsp almond extract and 1 tsp vanilla instead) Ice cake and top with handful of choc chips if you wish.   Looks like a donut huh? Husband Review: Man oh man did I hear a lot about this cake. The hubby ate it, but I don't think he enjoyed it too much. He's my biggest critic. I really wish that I could've found some butternut flavoring, because the almond extract and the vanilla didn't really work for me for the frosting. It had a very strong alcohol flavor. The cake itself was pretty dense and it was pretty dry. My father-in-law ate it and said it reminded him of a brownie. If the cake wasn't as dry, it would have had a nice flavor. I may try to make it again and tweak it a bit to get it how I want it. Maybe a chocolate ganach icing instead?

Crispy Pretzel Bars - September 16, 2012

**Sorry I didn't post this last week like I should have... I got a little busy and time just slipped away from me.**

I was going through my recipe book and found this guy. It seemed easy enough so I thought I'd give it a try.

Crispy Pretzel Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup peanut butter

5 cups Rice Krispies

2 cups pretzels

1 cup M&Ms

Directions:
Melt sugar & corn syrup in microwave safe bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add peanut butter and stir until mixed. Add cereal, pretzels, & M&Ms. Mix well and press into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Let set and cut into squares.

Husband Rating:
These were pretty good, but in my pregnant state made me sick. :( My stomach can't handle peanut butter or pretzels right now. My husband thought they were ok, but I had also made a few other desserts at the same time and he had a dessert overload. These would be great to take camping or tailgating or some place where you want something simple to make and easy to eat. They do a great job of kicking any salty/sweet craving you may have. Play around with the add-ins. After baby comes, I'll make them again and add some chopped peanuts and maybe Nutella. 

Creamy Lemon Cake Bars - September 9, 2012

I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. I like lemon and I know my father in law loves lemon bars so I thought I'd try this twist and see what he thought.

Creamy Lemon Cake Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 pkg. lemon cake mix

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

Filling:

1 can (16oz) lemon frosting

1 pkg. cream cheese

2 eggs

1. Beat cake mix, butter and egg in a large bowl until crumbly. Press onto the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking pan.

2. Beat frosting and cream cheese in another bowl until smooth. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping. Add eggs to remaining mixture; beat on low speed until combined. Spread over crust.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 34-40 minutes or until filling is set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Spread reserved frosting mixture over top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Husband Rating:

He liked them, but lemon isn't his favorite. I loved these bars. The cake mix makes a cookie bottom and these kind of reminded me of a lemon cheesecake-like bar. Very tasty. My father in law gave me two thumbs up for them too. :)

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies - September 2, 2012

A pinterest find. I was looking for a yummy cookie to take camping... and I found the perfect one.

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks (8 ounces) softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

24 graham cracker quarters or 12 full sheets separated at perforations
3 Hershey Bars, broken into rows of 3 bars
12 large marshmallows cut in half lengthwise

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.

2. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until well combined.

3. Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips.

4. Layer a graham cracker quarter with 3 Hershey chocolate squares and 2 marshmallow halves. Close with another graham cracker.

5. Top s’more with a large scoop of cookie dough. Place in hands and place another large scoop on bottom then front and back sides as needed. 

 Form dough around s’mores. It is much easier than it sounds, just make sure your dough is around room temperature, and make one big disc shape. Pinch off excess dough if you have too much. 

(note: When your cookies go into the oven, they should look like HUGE, lumpy cookie dough balls on the tray.  The s'more should be completely encased with dough! The picture above just shows how it will look before you smooth the dough all over the s'more.)

6. Place large cookies onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack or serving plate.

 Look at the size of these things!!!!

Husband Rating:

Ummmm, awesome! I'm not a big fan of s'mores because I'm not a huge fan of marshmallows. These were seriously sooo good! The marshmallow kind of melted into the cookie dough and formed this super chewy layer. The whole batch made about 12 cookies... maybe. They were seriously huge. You can split one of these between two or three people no problem. Try these.