Cream Cheese Bars - April 15, 2012

I'm terribly sorry for not posting on Sundays like I had originally planned. Dan and I found out we were pregnant with baby number 2 and it's been a little difficult to stomach making a lot of these desserts. :) But, I'm not giving up, so you'll get a recipe every week, but I can't guarantee it will be early in the week.


These bars are super rich and yummy. You don't need a whole lot of ingredients and it's simple. I made this and my husband ate the whole thing within a couple days. He's a fan.

 Cream Cheese Bars

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls

2 (8oz) pkgs. cream cheese

1 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg (separated)

Roll 1 can of rolls on bottom of greased 9x13-inch pan. (I usually bake the bottom layer for about 8 minutes before going to the next step. Otherwise I find that it's really doughy and I don't like that.) Cream together the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and egg YOLK. Spread on top of rolls in pan. Spread remaining can of rolls on top, stretching to cover the entire area. Beat egg white and brush on top. Sprinkle sugar on top, about 1/4 cup. (I never sprinkle sugar on top... but mainly because I always forget.) Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes. 

Husband Review:

He LOVES this stuff. My mom made it for the first time for us years ago, and he just loves it. I can't describe it any other way... he just loves it. It's really delicious and very simple to make. There's that perfect amount of flakiness paired with the gooey creaminess of the center. Yum, I'm thinking about making this again soon.

Jello Poke Cupcakes - April 8, 2012

Once in awhile, back in the day, we had jello cake for dessert in our school lunch. I always loved this cake, but never really thought much about it after I left high school. I came across this recipe on pinterest (of course) and I had to try it out.

Jello Poke Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix

(eggs, oil, water per box directions)

1 box (standard size) jello mix (any flavor) I used strawberry

1 container white whipped frosting

Follow directions on the box on how to make the cupcakes. Once the cupcakes are done baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool. Then take a fork and poke a bunch of holes in the top of each cupcake. Mix the jello mixture with 1 cup boiling water. Spoon the dissolved jello juice over each cupcake letting the juice seep into each hole. (*This was extremely messy for me. I ended up putting the cupcakes in a pan and then spooned the jello over each one. A lot of the jello runs off the cupcake into the pan and creates a giant mess... you've been warned.) Chill in the fridge for about 2-3 hours to let set. (*I had hungry cupcake lovers at my house, so I only let mine set for about a 1/2 hour... but they still turned out good.) Once completely set, frost and eat!

 This is what it looked like before I frosted it.

Next time, I'll try to get more juice in the cupcake so it seeps down more.

Husband Review:

These were a huge hit for our family. We had them for Bella's (first) 2nd birthday party. They were very delicious. I'm not a fan of cake myself, and I loved these guys. (I should explain... I'm not a fan of most cakes... I do like angel food and a lot of white cakes like this one. Chocolate cake? Not so much. I think it has to do with the frosting - blech.) I will definitely be making these again. I saw a variation on this where the blogger used lemon cake with lemon jello and lemon frosting. I think my parents would like that one. You can make it to fit any color theme. Red, white, and blue anyone?

Crepes - April 1, 2012

I love making crepes in the morning. I have a recipe that I got when I was in 5th grade, and I absolutely love it! I make these once in awhile for the family, and more often for just my daughter and I. Enjoy.

Crepes

Ingredients:
1 C. flour
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. milk
2 eggs

Beat eggs, add milk and rest of the ingredients. Take 1/3 c. of the batter and pour into a greased frying pan and swirl the batter around until it coats the pan and is really thin. Cook over medium heat until it's brown, flip and brown the other side. These don't take long to cook. Fill with your favorite filling: syrup, fruit, preserves, etc.

Husband Review:

Dan likes my crepes. He eats them like a pancake with butter and syrup. I think the only thing he doesn't like about these little guys is that you can only make one at a time and you can eat them a lot faster than you can make them. I can never make them fast enough. I like mine 3 different ways: with butter and powdered sugar, with Nutella filling, and just plain. These are really good, and really easy to make.

Rainbow Cupcakes - March 25, 2012

In honor of Bella's 2nd birthday, I'm posting the recipe I found for rainbow cupcakes. These are SO EASY to make, I'm surprised more people haven't tried them out. I first made these for my daughter's 1st birthday party, and they were a big hit.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix

1 container vanilla frosting

Wilton's gel food coloring

cake mix ingredients (eggs, oil, water, etc)

Mix cake mix as directed on the box. Separate batter into bowls for however many colors you want to make. I used 4 different colors. Add enough food coloring per bowl to get the desired color. Obviously, the more food coloring you use, the brighter it will be. Line a cupcake tin with papers, and then start layering the colored batter into the cupcake tins. I just used a smaller spoon and put a glob of blue at the bottom, then covered that with a blob of green, then pink, etc. Bake according to box directions. Once they are finished, let them cool and frost with frosting that you've colored with the food coloring. Enjoy!

 I used more food coloring for this set of cupcakes. ^

 

Husband Rating:

This is more of an everyone rating. Everyone loved these cupcakes. They were so colorful and yummy. Bella got a giant cupcake that she got to smash and enjoy. These are a great hit for birthday parties, theme parties, or just for fun. They're so easy, you can't go wrong!

 

Oreo Truffles - March 18, 2012

These little puppies only have 3 ingredients and are not difficult to make. I found the recipe a long time ago on some website, but have since found it again on Just A Pinch. I'm using her pictures because I didn't have time to take pictures before they were gone.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:

1 pkg Oreos (regular or Double Stuf... or mint, etc)

1 block cream cheese

1 pkg almond bark or white meltable candy chocolate

Get a gallon size bag out and smash the cookies in the bag until they are all crumbled. You can do the next step a couple different ways. You have to mix the cream cheese in with the cookies until it's all blended together, so you can either put the cream cheese in the bag with the Oreos and smoosh the bag around, get a bowl and mix it around with a spoon, or get your hands in there and mix it all together with your hands. Up to you. After it's all mixed together, form into about 1 inch balls and place in the freezer to set while you get your chocolate melted. Follow package directions on how to get the bark/chocolate melted and then remove Oreo balls from the freezer. Drop each ball in the bark flip around to coat evenly then place on wax paper to harden. Once they are set, put them all in a container and store in the fridge.

Husband Review:

Dan likes these guys. They are small, but they are rich and filling. I made them on Friday and took them up north for the weekend, but left some at home for the roommate. He ate them all by the next morning. He loved them. They are a big hit for Super Bowl parties or other get-togethers. The only part I don't like about making them is rolling them into balls. I don't like having my hands dirty like that. Lol.

Cinnamon Roll Pull - March 11, 2012

I realize that I did not post this on the 11th. I've had a busy busy couple of weeks. But, here it is now. I found this recipe on pinterest and I thought it looked pretty tasty, so I gave it a try.

Cinnamon Roll Pull

Ingredients:

1 unsliced round loaf sourdough bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make Vanilla Honey Butter: Whip butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar together until smooth; stir in honey and vanilla.  Set aside. (You can use regular butter if desired)

Cut the bread lengthwise into 1/2" slices, without cutting through the bottom crust. Spread vanilla honey butter in between slices.  Rotate the bread 90 degrees and slice the bread again into 1/2" pieces, without cutting through the bottom crust. Spread more vanilla honey butter in between new cuts. This doesn't need to be perfect - just make sure there is lots of butter in between all the cuts. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Generously sprinkle in between all cuts. (You may have extra butter and cinnamon sugar.  It will just depend on how large your bread loaf is.)

Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until bread is warm.  Unwrap cinnamon bread and place on serving platter.  Combine powdered sugar and milk - adding milk until you get the consistency desired.  Drizzle icing over bread and serve immediately.

(My photos were taken from my phone and are terrible quality, so I'm adding her photos to the post. You'll get a better idea what it's supposed to look like from these.)

Husband Review:

This seemed like a good idea at the time, but no one ate it. It wasn't because it didn't look good or smell good, we just weren't hungry for it. My husband didn't even try it. I tried it, and it was ok, but not what I was looking for at that particular time. A friend came over the next day and was excited to pair it with a cup of coffee and he said it was exactly what he needed. I think that if I want some sort of a cinnamon roll pull apart, I'm going to make my own dough. The sourdough just wasn't melt-in-your-mouth good like I want my cinnamon rolls to be. Along the same lines, if anyone has a great copycat recipe for Cinnabons, send it my way PLEASE!

Banana Bread - March 4, 2012

Ok, so I figure if something has enough sugar in it, it's considered a dessert. This banana bread has sugar in it (and chocolate chips) so it's dessert in my book.

I used two recipes for these banana breads, so here you go. Both are really good.

 Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 c. margarine (softened)

1 egg

1 tsp. baking powder

1 C. mashed bananas

3 T. milk

1 C. sugar

2 C. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 C. chopped nuts (opt.)

Mix all ingredients together and spread into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 and check after 1 hour.

Moist Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1/3 C. shortening

1 C. sugar

2 eggs

2-3 ripe bananas (mashed)

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 C. + 2 T. flour

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf.

I don't really remember which recipe is which loaf, but I think the one with the chocolate chips is the first recipe.

Husband Review:

He likes banana bread, and I find that I'm making it more frequently now. I don't like bananas. I love banana bread, but plain bananas gross me out. Before our daughter was born, I never bought bananas because I never ate them. Bella enjoys her bananas, so I find that I have them around a lot. What a perfect excuse to make banana bread! I think out of the two recipes above, I prefer the first one. Mix whatever you want in it. I grew up with a dad that didn't like nuts in his baked goods, so to this day, I omit the nuts while baking. I think these would be divine with some walnuts mixed in. Try it yourself, and tell me what you add to spruce up banana bread.