Category Archives: Desserts

December 19, 2011 · 11:40 am

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

This is the only recipe on this whole blog that I have not personally tasted, but it didn’t make a ton of cookies and I was making them for the teachers at the kids’ school. So I just crossed my fingers and hoped they were good. They must have been because my cookie tray was returned to me with a post-it on it that said “Delicious!”. Not only are they delicious, but they are also very festive since they’re red.

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1 box red velvet cake mix
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake filling:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the white chocolate drizzle:
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, melted

Instructions:
To make cookies, in a large bowl combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. The dough will be oily. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

While the dough is in the frig, make the cheesecake filling since it needs to hang out in the freezer for a while. To make the cheesecake filling, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Using a teaspoon, scoop out cheesecake filling and place on a plate. Continue scooping out cheesecake filling into teaspoon balls until you have 10. Place plate in the freezer and freeze for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. To assemble the cookies, take about 1/4 cup of red velvet cookie dough and flatten in your hands. Place a teaspoon of cheesecake filling in the center and wrap the cookie dough around the filling. Gently roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Scoop onto lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Only bake 3 cookies at a time. The cookies are large and will spread. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies begin to crackle. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or over a double-boiler. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies. Let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy!

Did I change anything? No, but take note that these cookies take a while to make. If I had read the whole recipe ahead of time I would have noticed that they have to sit for two hours before you can actually bake them.

What did the family think? No one here got to eat any, but the teachers thought they were great. 🙂

Where did this recipe come from? Two Peas and their Pod

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Everybody Ate It, Make Ahead of Time, Vegetarian

December 10, 2011 · 2:02 pm

Mini Eggnog Muffins with Eggnog Glaze

These are the yummy treats I made last night. They are very Christmasy and you don’t have to like eggnog to like them.

Ingredients:
For the muffins
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup eggnog
2 2/3 cups all-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt

For the glaze
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup eggnog
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 mini muffin pans. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream together the butter, canola oil, and sugars till smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and egg nog, beating to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.

Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans, filling the cups nearly full. Bake the muffins for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Remove muffins from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes.

To make the glaze, combine butter, sugar, eggnog, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Dip the tops of each muffin into the glaze and let cool on a wire cooling rack until glaze sets up.

Did I change anything? I simplified the steps and I didn’t sift the powdered sugar as the original recipe instructed. The next time I make these, I will use less sugar. They are sweet!

What did the family think? The family didn’t eat them because we had to take them to a function at church this morning. They will also be going to a violin recital this afternoon!

Where did this recipe come from? I got it from Two Peas and their Pod and they got it from King Arthur Flour.

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November 11, 2011 · 7:09 pm

Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Cream Cheese Glaze

We had these with our breakfast for dinner last night. They were good last night, but they were even better as leftovers for breakfast today.

Ingredients:
Filling
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt

Dough
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (4 1/8 oz) whole wheat flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
5 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, divided

Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 oz light cream cheese
1 tbsp buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

Prepare the filling. Whisk together all filling ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all purpose flour, whole what flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Add in buttermilk and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter and mix until dough starts to come together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes, until dough begins to look smooth and can be handled easily.

Place dough on a floured surface and press or roll out into a 9×12-inch rectangle. Take remaining tablespoon of melted butter and brush over dough rectangle. Sprinkle evenly with filling mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border around each edge. Roll the dough up into a tight spiral. Pinch seam to seal.

Use a serrated knife to cut dough into 9 even pieces. Gently flatten each of the rolls before placing them in the prepared pan, to even them out if they were misshaped when sliced.

Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 12 minutes covered, then uncover the rolls and bake for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown. Use the foil to lift the rolls out of the baking pan and place them on a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Prepare the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk all glaze ingredients together with a hand mixer until very smooth. Drizzle over slightly cooled rolls and serve.

Store leftovers (if you have any, which I doubt you will) in an airtight container after they have completely cooled.

What did the family think? They were so good that hubby couldn’t believe I made them. I will just go ahead and take that as a compliment.

Where did this recipe come from? I got it from Handle the Heat. They got it from America’s Test Kitchens.

photo from Handle the Heat

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November 5, 2011 · 1:35 pm

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

If these don’t say fall, then I don’t know what does. We had these for lunch today with some scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage and fruit salad. It was a perfect warm fall lunch on a very chilly rainy day.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350Ëš F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

Did I change anything? I used less sugar than the original recipe called for and I made the filling procedures a lot easier and a lot less time consuming. I also left off the topping that was supposed to go on top of the muffins and I only made half of the recipe. The recipe above will make about 24 muffins. I didn’t want to make that many.

What did the family think? Everyone that has had one loves them.

Where did this recipe come from? Annie’s Eats

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October 20, 2011 · 11:14 am

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

I found this on Pinterest and have been wanting to make this for forever, but the boys kept eating all of the graham crackers before I could make it. My oldest had a friend over today and we had just enough graham crackers, so I decided to make some for a treat for their playdate.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup nondairy milk (I used soy.)
1 1/2 T brown sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used the mini kind.)
2 to 3 T oats (or flaxmeal)
Graham crackers for dipping

Instructions:
Put all of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Mix in the chocolate chips and then sprinkle a few more on top.

Did I change anything? I put more peanut butter in it than the original recipe called for so it was more peanut buttery. I also sprinkled on a few more chocolate chips, but used half as much brown sugar. All of the changes I made are reflected in the recipe above.

What did the family think? It was a playdate success!

Where did this recipe come from? Chocolate Covered Katie

photo from Chocolate Covered Katie

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September 30, 2011 · 9:05 am

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

It’s that time of year again…time to break out all things pumpkin. These are full of chocolatey pumpkiny goodness and your family will LOVE them.

Ingredients:
2 c flour
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1 c unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 c pumpkin puree
12 oz chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom and side of 13×9″ pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Spray with cooking spray.

Whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

Cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high until smooth. Beat in the egg & vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Using an offset spatula (or the back of a spoon), spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few crumbs, not batter). Cool completely in the pan.

Did I change anything? The recipe above has the amount of sugar I used. I cut the original amount in half. I figured it already had a whole bag of chocolate chips in it, so it was going to be pretty sweet anyways. I sprayed the aluminum foil with cooking spray because I was worried about these tasty treats getting stuck to the aluminum foil. That would ruin all of the fun.

What did the family think? Hubby won’t eat them because there is pumpkin in them. I know, he’s weird.

Where did this recipe come from? Bake at 350

photo from Bake at 350

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Vegetarian

September 26, 2011 · 9:02 am

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

There’s oatmeal in them, so they’re healthy, right? 🙂

Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup rolled oat

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position.

Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl.

Add the brown and white sugars and let cool a bit.

Add egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.

Add flour and wheat germ and mix. Then add the chocolate chips and oats and mix everything up. The dough will be quite stiff.

With a spatula spread dough evenly into a greased 8×8 baking pan or a similar sized pie dish.

Bake at 350 for 25– 30 minutes.

Cut into bars when cool.

Did I change anything? I added the wheat germ and I would have put in a lot less sugar had I thought about it before I dumped it all in there.

What did the family think? It has sugar, butter and chocolate. Enough said.

Where did this recipe come from? Food.com

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September 19, 2011 · 11:28 am

Pumpkin Pie Cream Cheese

If this doesn’t say fall, then I don’t know what does. It’s like having a pumpkin pie cheesecake and spreading it on graham crackers, bagels and waffles. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, pumpkin and sugar until smooth. (You could also use an immersion blender or wooden spoon.)

Add the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

What did the family think? Only two of us have tried it so far and we LOVED it.

Where did this recipe come from? Ezra Pound Cake

photo from Pinch My Salt

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Filed under After School Snacks, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Make Ahead of Time, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

September 16, 2011 · 9:11 am

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

You may be wondering why I have am putting up all of these quinoa recipes all of the sudden. Well, it was on super duper sale at the grocery store, so now I have a bunch of it we need to use up. These cookies were described as “awesome” by my oldest child, so don’t let the quinoa scare you away.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-Purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Parchment paper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, grind the quinoa and oatmeal. I gave it a couple of pulses and called it good. Add quinoa and oats to a bowl, then add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

Cream together oil and sugars. Add in flax seeds, milk and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients to the wet, in batches, stirring the mixture to incorporate the dry ingredients. You may need to add a splash of milk at this point to get everything to mix together.

Add in the chocolate chips and mix.

Drop by the spoonful on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 8-10 minutes.

What did the family think? Yummy goodness all the way around.

Where did this recipe come from? Vegweb

photo from Multiply Delicious

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September 14, 2011 · 8:59 am

Back to School Cookies

To start off the school year I wanted to make some cookies that were tasty, but also had a little bit of healthy thrown in there too. These cookies turned out great and have been a hit for after school snacks as well as lunchbox desserts. (They are also good with a big glass of milk when the kids are in bed and I finally get a chance to sit down.)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 T milk
1 cup flour (whole wheat, all-purpose, whatever you have)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup uncooked quick rolled oats
2 T wheat germ
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
Parchment paper

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sugars in an electric mixer.

Cream the sugars with the softened butter.

Add in the egg, vanilla, and milk. Cream until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add slowly to the wet mixture until incorporated.

Once smooth, stir in the oats, wheat germ, chocolate chips, and sunflower seeds.

Using a cereal spoon, drop rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Makes around 2 dozen (depending on the size of your cookies).

Did I change anything? The recipe above is my version of one that I found on-line and tweaked a bit…less sugar and I added the wheat germ and sunflower seeds.

What did the family think? Everyone LOVED them!

Where did this recipe come from? A Dash of Sass (and then I changed it up a bit)

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