26 Saturday Nov 2011
Posted in Baking, Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, Dessert, From a Mix, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Tags
Baked, Baking, Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, Chocolate, Dessert, Easy, From a Mix, Postaweek2011, Recipes
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Amongst many other baking expeditions (that I have failed to post on) over the last week, this one turned out …
29 Friday Apr 2011
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Cookies, Dessert, From a Mix, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Tags
Baked, Baking, Birthdays, Cookies, Dessert, Easy, From a Mix, Postaweek2011, Recipes
This gallery contains 3 photos.
We had two things to celebrate today! I will admit my excitement for one of these was fueled mainly by …
18 Friday Feb 2011
Posted in Baking, Brownies & Bars, Dessert, From a Mix, Postaweek2011, Recipes
Tags
Baked, Brownies & Bars, Dessert, Easy, From a Mix, Postaweek2011, Recipes
This gallery contains 2 photos.
I have a few brand name websites that I frequent, such as: Kraft, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Nestle, Hershey’s and Land O’Lakes… Well …
15 Monday Nov 2010
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Dessert, Recipes
Have you ever seen the Rice Krispy Treats at Starbucks? They are huge and have big chunky marshmallows in them. The taste and texture, however cannot replace a fresh homemade treat. Actually, I don’t care for anything by the looks of Starbucks version.
While these weren’t as big or thick as their’s, they were, oh so much better. This is just your basic Rice Krispy Treat recipe with some unmelted mini-marshmallows and I prepared it in the microwave instead of the stove top (all my burners were tied up with dinner).
Just in case you don’t have this recipe engrained into your head, here it is (as I prepared it).
Chunky Rice Krispy Treats (Microwave Version)
Ingredients:
Directions:
Spray a 9 x 13″ pan with baking spray. Place Rice Krispies and 1 cup mini-marshmallows in a large bowl or dish, set aside.
Cut butter into small chunks and microwave in large glass bowl until melted, about 1 minute on 50% power. Add 4 cups of marshmallows to dish and stir, microwave for about 30 seconds until marshmallows are soft and stir until completely melted.
Pour melted marshmallows over cereal mixture and stir until well coated. Press into prepared pan with spatula. Allow to cool then slice and serve.
14 Sunday Nov 2010
Posted in Baking, Brownies & Bars, Dessert, Recipes
Recently, I received the opportunity to participate in a Pillsbury Crescents “Holiday Entertaining” Recipe Swap hosted by Pssst and My Get Together. There were four recipes and many perks to participate. One of the recipes is no stranger to the dessert or blog world. That being said, I wanted to “spiff up” these Crescent Layer Bars. My thought was to thicken the crust a little. Instead of reducing the pan size, I chose to use two rolls of crescents instead of one. That is boring though, so I added a twist of my own. I took 3 ounces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened) and combined it with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. I followed the initial directions of pre-baking a roll layer, then spread the cream cheese over that, topping with another roll of crescents.
Don’t be confused, it isn’t as complicated as I just made it sound. These bars are already quite rich and I believe the cream cheese mixture compliments the bars. Also, the cashews were honey roasted… not intentional, just what I had on hand. Here’s the recipe, taken directly from the recipe cards. My changes are listed at the end:
Crescent Layer Bars
Prep Time: 25 Min Total Time: 2 Hr 20 Min Makes: 36 barsINGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark pans). Grease bottom and sides of 13×9-inch pan.
2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough into 2 long rectangles. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough. Place in pan; press over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust. Bake 5 minutes.
3. Remove partially baked crust from oven. Sprinkle vanilla chips, chocolate chips, almonds and cashews evenly over crust. Pour condensed milk evenly over top.
4. Return to oven; bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.
NUTRITION INFORMATION:
1 Bar: Calories 160 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 3 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 75mg; Total Carbohydrate 17g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 13g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 6%; Iron 4% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1
*My additions:
Follow step one and two and remove the first crust from the oven as directed above. Now spread cream cheese layer over the first crust and top that with the other roll (make sure to have that one open, unrolled and seams pressed). Throw that in for another 5 minutes then continue as directed.
09 Sunday May 2010
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, Dessert, From a Mix, Recipes
Tags
Today I came across a wonderful cake that incorporates a little bit of this and that. While surfing for a cake to prepare for a birthday party I found this recipe at Picky Palate. I love Jenny’s site and her recipes. I had nearly all of the ingredients so after a quick trek to the store, I was off to bake. The differences that I made were not using the brownie layer (more on that in a minute) and adding a layer of cherry pie filling under the cheesecake layer. For the frosting I prepared a chocolate buttercream frosting from Recipezaar. With over 300 positive reviews I knew I could count on this recipe. I doubled it for this cake.
Now as for the brownie layer in the cake, I had to omit it due to the massive size of the cake. I’m sure that it would make a wonderful addition, but next time I will bake the brownie layer in two pans, so I can easily only use a layer of 1/2 the height. So I am going to make brownie pops tomorrow with the brownie batch.
So, now for the how to:
Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake, Cake Adapted from Double Chocolate Cheesecake Layered Cake @ Picky PalettePreheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese and sugar into a stand or electric mixer bowl. Beat until softened. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Pour into a wax paper lined and greased 9 inch springformpan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until middle is set and not jiggly. Remove and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight or for 2-3 hours. Carefully remove sides and transfer to wax paper. **I placed the cheesecake in the freezer for about 30 minutes before removing from pan.
Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and divide evenly into a wax paper lined and greased 9 inch cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely then carefully turn over onto wax paper; set aside.
Prepare cake mix according to package directions and pour into 2 wax paper lined 9 inch cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely then carefully turn over onto wax paper; set aside.
Kittencal’s Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Doubled from the original recipeCream the butter in stand mixer. Add the cocoa and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and milk alternately ending with the sugar. depending on the consistency you are looking for, you may not need 2/3 cup of milk, so don’t dump it all at once.
Putting it all together: (without the brownie layer)
Trim domed part of both cakes. Place one layer of cake, trimmed side down on serving plate and frost. Place a thin layer of the pie filling on top of frosting then top with cheesecake layer. Add another layer of pie filling then a layer of frosting. Place other cake layer cut size down, on top of the cake and finish frosting completely. Refrigerate to set the cake. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
04 Thursday Mar 2010
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, From a Mix, Recipes
As a last-minute “birthday cake” I found this recipe on my iPhone while working out. Yes, I iPhone while on the elliptical… Anyhow, one of my apps is a Betty Crocker recipe search. I was looking for a quick easy recipe to put together. I didn’t have a lot of time, or to be honest desire, so this recipe fit the bill. A plus was I had all the ingredients called for.
The recipe is highly rated on the Betty Crocker site. Some of the reviewers noted that the caramel hardened quite a bit once cooled, but I didn’t have that problem at all. The cake is very moist, but not “mushy”. It is very rich too, I do suggest adding whipped topping or ice cream to mellow out the richness of the cake a little. I served the cake warm with vanilla bean ice cream. It was wonderful.
Photo from the Betty Crocker site
(I still have to photograph the dessert and post it, but I dislike posting recipes without pictures to influence you to make it!)
A Betty Crocker Recipe -
Ingredients:
Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom of 13×9-inch pan.
In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low-speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour half of the batter into pan. Bake 22 minutes (25 minutes for dark or nonstick pan). Refrigerate remaining batter.
Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan**, heat caramels and evaporated milk over medium heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melted. Stir in pecans. Pour caramel mixture over warm cake in pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Spread with remaining batter. Bake 25 minutes (29 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream, drizzle with topping and sprinkle with pecans. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
**I microwaved the caramel according to the directions on the bag. It resulted in the same product a saucepan would have.
04 Friday Dec 2009
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, Recipes
This is actually remarkably easy to prepare. It is taken from Taste of Home and is their ”make-over” version. Made over meaning time and preparation, not fat unfortunately. I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie for the base, and their dark chocolate chips in the mousse. Otherwise, I prepared the dessert exactly as instructed.
Chocolate Truffle Dessert
Ingredients:
Directions:
Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Spread into a greased 9-in. spring-form pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Place chocolate chips in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 cup cream, butter and coffee granules.
Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 to 1½ minutes or until butter is melted; stir until smooth. With food processor running, add cream mixture to chocolate chips in a slow, steady stream. Add vanilla; cover and process until smooth.
Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag. Fill with ¼ cup chocolate mixture; set aside for garnish. Transfer remaining chocolate mixture to a large bowl.
Remove sides of spring-form pan. Spread about ½ of the chocolate mixture over the top and sides of the brownie layer.
In a small bowl, beat remaining cream until soft peaks form; fold into remaining chocolate mixture. Spread over chocolate layer. Gently press cookies into sides of dessert.
Pipe reserved chocolate mixture on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
*Afterthoughts: I took this to a small party and found that the kids were far less interested in this dessert than the adults. I believe this is mainly due to the addition of the coffee granules. If you want a “less adult” dessert, leave those out. This was very, very rich but went over great!
03 Saturday Oct 2009
Posted in Brownies & Bars, Cookies
Tags
Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have been so busy lately I haven’t been able to post. Does that make me a failure? No. Just proves that life is very busy. I have all of these aspirations to bake, and even took butter out to soften the other night… only to put it away when I realized how tired I was. I did successfully complete another 5K today, shaving close to two minutes off of my time. It was no doubt my best run yet.
None the less… Did you know that October is National Cookie Month? I had this great idea to bake a batch of cookies every day this month to celebrate… I sort of don’t think that is going to happen… lol.
I will however get me some kitchen time, soon I hope. These are some of the recipes at the top of my list:
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies from Bunny at Bunny’s Warm Oven
Best Yet M&M Cookies from Anna at Cookie Madness
Cranberry Pretzel Macadamia Bars from Land O’ Lakes.com (though I think I will try the Cashew Version)
Hot Little Chocolate Chip Cookies Pies and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Duo from Jenny at Picky Palate
These Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Cookies from Peabody at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody look awesome too!
And for a fun easy treat, these Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Pretzels from Stephanie at Stephanie’s Kitchen
Of course there are thousands of beautiful recipes from fellow foodies that I would love to create, but I should probably stick with these.
Thanks for stopping by! Sorry to be on the dismally present list lately!
30 Sunday Aug 2009
Posted in Brownies & Bars, From a Mix, Recipes
If you are looking for a quick, easy yet decadent (fool em all) dessert, this one’s calling your name. I have made this before and it turns out wonderfully. I have had a packed schedule all week and while I would love to make a torte from scratch, it just wasn’t going to happen today. So improvising let me here:
Dark Chocolate Brownie Torte with Chocolate Ganache
Brownies:
Prepare 8″ round cake pan with cooking spray. Follow baking directions for fudge-like brownies and bake. When done, remove and let cool for 10 minutes then remove brownie from pan to serving dish. Prepare ganache.
Ganache:
Place chocolate in small bowl and microwave in small.
Microwave cream uncovered on high until boiling. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes, the ganache will thicken. Pour evenly over torte. (You can heat on the stove top as well)
Allow torte to cool completely (or you will need a spoon!) Garnish with orange peel if desired.
Of course, I had already tossed the orange peel when I got to this step, so no decor!
