Panda Birthday

29 Wednesday Apr 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, Cookies, From a Mix, Recipes

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Brownies & Bars, Cakes & Pies, Cookies, From a Mix, Recipes

panda-cookie-cake1

In just a few hours my youngest will turn 8. I cannot believe how the years have flown by. In the course of these 8 years, her “idols” have changed. First it was (ugh) Barney, then Pooh, Butterflies, Dora… and currently Panda Bears, Hannah Montana and Guitars. Her idea of the perfect birthday party would be set in China with Miley Cyrus playing a black and white guitar. We gave her a guitar for Christmas and she actually cried. We also adopted a Panda Bear in her name through WWF. She is a loving, caring and sincere, hard headed red head who knows no enemies.

Naturally, her party has to revolve around music playing Panda’s. I started tonight working on her cake for her class at school. Tomorrow I will work on the cake for her party at home (which will be on the weekend).

I can’t wait to get pictures of this first cake posted. It is a sugar cookie “pizza” cake with chocolate “sprinkles” decorated like one of those giant cookie cakes you get from the fancy mall cookie stores. These type of cakes are a tradition for me to make for school parties. I deck them out in a real pizza box and slice them with a fancy pizza cutter right there in the classroom. I will get the pics up in the morning.

kenzie-and-cookie-cake1

Happy Birthday Kenzie Bear!!!

Update: When I began piping the frosting on for the Panda, there was a thin layer of the top that kept coming off when I pulled the tip away. So I ended up putting a thin layer of frosting down and leaving it overnight to harden. I finished it this morning at 4 am, so it wasn’t exactly up to my expectations!

Homemade Granola Bars

08 Sunday Feb 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Breakfast, Brownies & Bars, Recipes

≈ 14 Comments

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Brownies & Bars, Chocolate, Recipes

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

During some recent surfing I found these bars at Stephanie’s Kitchen. I have really wanted to try making my own granola bars, but never got around to purchasing all the necessary ingredients. However, when I saw that this recipe only four ingredients and essentially no baking time I placed the recipe on my to do list. This recipe is quick and easy and turned out quite nice. Since I pack my hubby a granola bar everyday for a snack, this is a great start to cutting costs (and calories…). You can see her post here, and I have added the recipe below. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

(from Stephanie’s Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 cups granola
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a Ghirardelli Bar)

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the honey and peanut butter until smooth. Add the granola and mix until well coated. Pat into a 8X8 greased pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Place in a 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is melted. Smooth out chocolate over the top of the granola. Chill until set. Cut into squares

Quick, easy and wonderful.

Yum!

Blondies by Betty

17 Saturday Jan 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Brownies & Bars, From a Mix, Recipes

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Brownies & Bars, From a Mix, Recipes

Blondies by Betty

Bring on the box! Yes, I proudly used another cake mix to make dessert. This recipe comes from the Late Spring 2007 edition of Betty Crocker Super Moist Cakes magazine. I have five of their Cake Mix recipe magazines. Though I really enjoy baking from scratch, quite equally to the creations that come from a box.

These bars are quite wonderful. Scrumptious in fact. Addicting. They are easy to make. Any time that I have made these they have been highly enjoyed and the recipe has been requested often. I make no changes, it doesn’t need any.

White Chocolate Macadamia-Caramel Bars

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 cup butterscotch caramel topping (from 17-oz. jar), heated
1 package (18 oz.) Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Big Deluxe Classics refrigerated white chunk macadamia nut cookies

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, oil, water and eggs until smooth. Spread into ungreased 13 x 9 inch pan. (I recommend using glass, it bakes the crust better)

Bake crust 18 to 22 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and drizzle over crust. Crumble cookies over the crust.

Bake 18 to 23 minutes longer, or until golden brown. Cool completely, cut and serve.Yield 48 bars (130 calories each )

Really Big Name (but worth every word) Blondies

Rich & Luscious Cheesecake Brownies

01 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Brownies & Bars, From a Mix, Recipes

≈ 26 Comments

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Brownies & Bars, Chocolate, From a Mix, Recipes

Got Milk?

These magnificent brownies were just one of the treats we had for New Years Eve. No big parties or jam-packed festivities for us, just a get together with friends. We adults caught up on some long needed Rook, while the kids Rocked out for hours on the Wii. I took a hand at the drums in Rock Band… and quickly handed off the sticks to my ten year old. Anyway, it was a nice evening which we actually ended before midnight…boring, I know.

The brownie layer is, I am not ashamed to announce, a box mix. The top layer is made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, eggs and a shot of vanilla. I am certain a good fudge brownie recipe would go well in this dessert, but time was not on my side.

The recipe is from the book, The Great American Cookie Cookbook. It is a wonderful brownie, but it is so rich I only make it for special occasions.

Ingredients:

Brownie Layer:

1 Family Size Fudge Brownie Mix (9 x 13″ size)
All Ingredients brownies as called for on box (fudge version, not cake)

Cream Cheese Layer:

8 ounces (1 block) cream cheese, softened **Large Block**
2 large eggs
16 ounce box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a 13 x 9″ pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Prepare brownies as directed and pour into prepared pan. For the cheesecake layer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy, then beat in the eggs, sugar and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Spoon and spread mixture over the brownies and bake for about 45 minutes. The cheesecake layer will be golden brown and shiny when cooked. Remove from the oven and cool completely. When cool, grasp the foil and remove the brownie from the pan. Cut into bars and store left overs in the fridge. It is very rich, so keep the pieces small and have some milk ready to pour!