Category Archives: Dessert

Chunky Rice Krispy Treats

15 Monday Nov 2010

Posted by in Brownies & Bars, Dessert, Recipes

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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:

  • 6 cups Rice Krispies
  • 1 cup mini-marshmallows (5 cups total in recipe)
  • 1/4 Cup Butter
  • 4 cups mini-marshmallows (or about 40 large)

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.

Pillsbury Crescent Layer Bars

14 Sunday Nov 2010

Posted by in Baking, Brownies & Bars, Dessert, Recipes

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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 bars

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
  • 1 cup white vanilla baking chips
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 cup cashew halves and pieces
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

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

© 2010 General Mills.

*My additions:

  • Combine 3 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix this well, set aside.

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.

Pound Cake with KA Cake Flour

03 Wednesday Nov 2010

Posted by in Baking, Cakes & Pies, Dessert, Recipes

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My go-to recipe for Sour Cream Pound Cake has always been a sensation. Whether drizzled with fresh strawberries, layered with butter cream or “eau natural” you won’t go wrong preparing this delicacy.

Last week my husband embarked on another decade and we celebrated with this, one of his favorites. To enhance the flavor and texture of the recipe, I used a higher grade butter and flour. Money isn’t an issue when you roll into another year is it?

These two changes rendered what my husband said was the best cake yet; moist with a tight crumb. King Arthur definitely lived up to his name in this cake, well worth the extra dollar :) .

Here’s the recipe again:

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, room temp (I used Grade A Irish Butter)
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 eggs
  • 3 cups all purpose flour (I used KA Unbleached Cake Flour)
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond or lemon extract
  • 8 oz. sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat desired pans with baking spray. (1 Bundt pan, 3 (8″) round pans, 2 (9″) round pans, or loaf pans)

In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda and salt, set aside. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and lemon extract. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately ending with flour. Spoon batter into pans. Bake loaf and round pans 45 – 60 minutes,  and bundt pan 60 to 75 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. For loafs you may add 3 -5 cups of chopped pecans.

For Frosted Layer Cakes - Note: I doubled for this cake

Buttercream Frosting:

  • ½ cup softened butter (Irish, grade A)
  • ½ cup butter flavor shortening
  • 16 oz. powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 -3 Tbls milk

Cream butter, Crisco until smooth, slowly add powdered sugar, add vanilla and milk to desired consistency.

*I frosted the inner layers with strawberry buttercream frosting and a layer of fresh strawberry preserves.

Back and full of Spice!

05 Sunday Sep 2010

Posted by in Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Recipes

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I have been anxious to get back to baking, however spare time has been sparse. This week though I got a new camera, and decided no matter what, that I would set aside some time this weekend to bake and take (photos that is). With literally millions of options on the WWFB (world-wide food blogs) I came across this recipe on one of my favorites, Get Off Your Butt & Bake. This is an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, but it is put together in a way I haven’t seen before. That is you boil the raisins and the flour is added with the butter and sugar prior to adding the soda and salt… The aroma of the spices in there was tantalizing and made the house small like Christmas… which by the way is coming sooner than you would believe.

But I digress. I did change-up a few small items, but otherwise stuck to the original recipe. My husband and youngest daughter were my taste testers. After the first bite, my husband had this like “pregnant pause”, which alarmed me. Then he stated, “Those are good, really good!” My daughter said the same and didn’t even complain about the raisins (which she swears she hates).

So here is the recipe and some practice photos taken with the new Rebel T2i (which so far is amazing).

Mom’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Slightly adapted from Get Off Your Butt & Bake

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 3/4 cup softened butter, cubed*
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 eggs*
  • 2 cups original oats
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips (or nuts)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom
  • Sea salt to top if desired

Begin by combing the raisins and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely. Once cool, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the raisin mixture with the butter, sugar, eggs, oatmeal,  flour and chocolate chips (or nuts) and salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon and/or your hands. Add the remaining ingredients until well blended and drop by tablespoons onto parchment or non stick pan, sprinkle some sea salt on cookie tops if desired. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Let the cookies rest on baking sheet just long enough to not fall apart 1 – 2 minutes.

*Note: in halving the recipe I had to use 1 1/2 eggs. I used my kitchen scale, but you could just open one egg, beat it lightly, and use half of it.

My changes in the cookies were:

  1. I halved the recipe and mixed it with my hands, not a mixer
  2. I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup shortening because I ran out of butter!
  3. I used chocolate chips instead of nuts
  4. I didn’t have allspice, so I used cardamom

Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Cake

15 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by in Cakes & Pies, Dessert, From a Mix, Recipes

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Surprisingly enough, photo’s taken with my iPhone while driving down the road!

 

Last minute cake, literally…

Earlier in the week I volunteered to prepare a cake to sell in a fundraiser. I thought about many options for a “go to cake” and just couldn’t settle on one. I needed something sturdy, climate safe and eye-appealing. This cake kept coming up, but it wasn’t until about 6:00 this morning, (2 hours before it was due) that I finalized the selection. Of course this required a store run… At any rate, long story short this cake is easy to prepare, and delivers a simple, yet beautiful cake. It is moist and rich, but not overly sweet. I chose to just dust it with powdered sugar versus a glaze.

I would suggest serving this cake with a cold glass of milk, or for a more delicate occasion, a nice cup of tea would do well. I rank this “cake mix” cake in my top 5, maybe even top 3… Try it!

Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (adapted from a McCormick recipe)

What you need:

  • 1 box (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix
  • 1 box (4 serving size) vanilla pudding
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray.

Beat all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large bowl on low to moisten, then on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and pour into pan.

Bake in the center of the over for 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert cake onto wire rack. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze (powdered sugar and milk mixture).

*Note: Using miniature chocolate chips ensures that the chips are evenly dispersed throughout the cake. You can also dust the chips with a little cake batter before adding to the batter.

 

Caramel Popcorn, Quick & Easy

10 Tuesday Aug 2010

Posted by in Candy, Dessert, Recipes

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Summer break is, unfortunately, coming to an end… not summer mind you, just the break. Here in Florida, I anticipate weeks more of summer weather, ugh. I spent my summer working at a week-long camp about an hour from my home. My job position has taken on many more hats which have come to include working in the kitchen. I enjoy this, as I grew around food and catering… but don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. I worked my butt off. Each week we served about 12 meals to an average of 100+ people.

For fun, here’s the breakdown of the baked goods I prepared this summer: 925 Cinnamon Rolls, 1,049  Blueberry Muffins, 1,502  Carnival Cookies, 216 Banana Nut Muffins, 432 Double Chocolate Muffins, 320  Chocolate Chip Cookies and 60 Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies.

It truly has been an interesting summer! So, to commemorate the excitement (or lack thereof) of returning to school (and work), make some caramel popcorn, pop open a cold Coke (Zero) and stand in line for school supplies. So long Summer 2010!

Easy Microwave Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

  • 10 cups popcorn, air popped or 1 microwave bag
  • 1/3 cup butter, unsalted
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place popcorn in a large microwave-safe glass bowl, set aside.

In another glass bowl, microwave the butter until melted, about 45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Microwave on high until mixture boils, 1 to 3 minutes, stirring once, then on high for 3 minutes without stirring. Remove bowl and stir in soda and vanilla.

Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and stir until most of the popcorn is coated.  Microwave on 70% power for 1 minute. Remove and stir, then microwave at 70% for 1 more minute. Remove  and stir again to coat popcorn evenly. Pour popcorn onto wax paper and cool completely, about ten minutes. Break apart and serve, or store in an airtight container.

You can add nuts or candy coated chocolate if desired. Add nuts with the popcorn before coating with the caramel.

Note: Add-ins such as M&M’s or chocolate morsels can be added, however if “melt-able”, add at the very end, or risk a big blob!

 If you are using chocolate, add it just before pouring on cooling sheet…or you will have a big melted blob.

Enjoy! Makes about 10 servings, about 1 cup each.

Cinnamon Brunch Cake

20 Sunday Jun 2010

Posted by in Breakfast, Cakes & Pies, Dessert, From a Mix, Muffins & Quick Breads, Recipes

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Cinnamon Brunch cake

 

This cake originates from a cake mix that is doctored to produce a wonderful breakfast dessert. The recipe comes from Duncan Hines Cake Mix Magic Cookbook that a friend loaned me. I prepared the cake this morning because I was bored… actually I woke early and decided to bake. Plus I thought it would be a nice Father’s day treat. The cake is dense, yet moist. I didn’t have almonds so I used recently picked Georgia Pecans.

Incidentally, I am excited to use my new cupcake plate. I actually painted it myself during a recent visit to a local pottery store with my youngest. I love the way it turned out!

Cinnamon Brunch Cake

Duncan Hines Cake Mix Magic, page 82

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup fine chopped almonds (pecans)
  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 1 box instant vanilla pudding (4 serving size)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil (see note)
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp almond extract (I used vanilla)

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 350. Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with baking spray.

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside. Sprinkle nuts evenly in the bottom of the Bundt pan. Combine the remaining ingredients and beat for two minutes.

Spread half of the batter in the pan and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over batter. Pour remaining batter into pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool about 15 minutes and remove from pan.

Glaze cake if desired. To prepare glaze, combine 1 cup of confectioner sugar with 1 – 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir until desired pouring consistency.

Note: To reduce some of the oil, I suggest using 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup of oil, and 1/2 cup of water. Or any combination of this reaching 1 1/2 cups of liquid. The applesauce renders a moister crumb.

Chocolate Chip Marble Bundt Cake

31 Monday May 2010

Posted by in Cakes & Pies, Dessert, Recipes

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I was drawn to the original post of this recipe by the its title “Stupid Delicious“. Obviously it must be pretty good to earn that title. I prepared this for a Memorial Day Cookout we attended today – which by the way was a pool party and the beautiful weather of this three-day holiday weekend ended at 3:00… the time the party began. Being a native Floridian however, I know that in 30 minutes, the sun will probably be shining, so we waited… and waited… The sun never came out, but the lightning stopped, so the kids got their swim in.

Anyway, I digress. I hesitate to take new recipes to parties, but after reading this post, I felt strongly it would be good. It was. The oohs and aahs were strikingly exclaimed. Try it, you will not be disappointed.

Don’t be afraid of the larger amount of ingredients, it is actually very easy to prepare, and once it’s in the oven, your work is done. No layers, no frosting, nothing but a beautiful, rich chocolaty cake ready to be devoured.

Chocolate Chip Marble Bundt Cake

From Shauna at Piece of Cake 

  • –       2½ cups sugar, divided
  • –       ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
  • –       ¼ cup light corn syrup
  • –       2½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided
  • –       2 2/3 cups flour
  • –       2 teaspoons baking powder
  • –       ½ teaspoon salt
  • –       1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • –       4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • –       1 cup milk, at room temperature
  • –       1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli)

1.) In a small saucepan, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cocoa powder and corn syrup with ½ cup hot water. Bring just to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Set aside.

2.) Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

 3.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4.) In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter with the remaining 2 cups sugar until light in color and fluffy, about two minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Beat in the remaining 2 tsp vanilla.

 5.) Reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat in a third of the flour mixture just until the flour begins to disappear into the batter. Beat in half the milk. Beat in another third of the flour, then the rest of the milk, and finish with the remaining flour until the batter is smooth. Stop the mixer and gently fold in the chocolate chips.

 6.) Scoop out a third of the batter into a medium bowl, whisk in the chocolate syrup and set aside.

7.)  Pour another third of the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth it with a spatula. Evenly top this layer with the chocolate batter. Finish by pouring the last third of the vanilla batter over the top.

8.) Lightly swirl the batters with a wooden skewer or knife to give a “marble” effect–a continuous figure-8 motion while going around the pan works well.

9.) Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back lightly when touched, about 60-70 minutes.

10.) Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. Invert the cooled cake onto a serving platter and dust lightly with powdered sugar before serving if desired. Store any leftovers in a cake dome at room temperature for 4-5 days, maybe more.

*I didn’t have time to wait till the cake was completely cooled and turned it onto a plate while still slightly warm. There was a very minor amount of thin cake layer remaining “here and there” in the pan, so if you can’t wait, it should be ok.

 

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Layer Cake

09 Sunday May 2010

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

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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 Palette
  • 2 – 8 oz packages softened cream cheese
  • 1/2 Cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 brownie mix 9×13 inch size (I baked but didnt use in this cake)
  • 1 chocolate cake mix
  • Chocolate Frosting Recipe, prepared

Preheat 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 recipe

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 tbl vanilla
  • 1/2 – 2/3 cup milk
  • 5 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Cream 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.

…May Flowers

01 Saturday May 2010

Posted by in Cakes & Pies, Dessert, From a Mix, Recipes

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Baking is one of the few things (if not the only) where I find myself indecisive. That is to say that I have bookshelf of baking recipes (cakes, bars, cookies…) on my ever-growing ”to do” list. This recipe was no different. Oh yeah, plain and simple aren’t in my repertoire. What starts quick and easy often escalates to something bigger and better. Enough rambling. I made these for my daughter’s 9th birthday party. There was no real theme to this party, so my decision wasn’t eased any.

My final decision for this cupcake was made just a few hours before the party. It was a last-minute epiphany that originated from recipes of Kraft and Betty Crocker magazines. The recipe uses a standard cupcake and frosting, but makes it bigger and better with a few marshmallows and some sprinkles. I was more than pleased with the result.

 

What you need:

  • 24 prepared cupcakes
  • Frosting, any of choice
  • 24 large marshmallows
  • Sprinkles
  • Jelly Beans or other round candy for the center
  • Here’s how to do it:

Frost the cupcakes, I colored mine green to match the tablecloth. Cut the marshmallows into 4 slices. Cut on the width, not the length of the marshmallow. Dip the sticky side of the marshmallow into sprinkles and place on top of the frosting. Arrange on top of frosting and place a jelly bean in the center. I suggest you refrigerate the cupcakes until the frosting has set completely, or the marshmallows may slide (depending on the consistency of the frosting).

You can create a more 3-D look by using 5 cut marshmallows and overlapping them on the cupcake top. That’s what I started doing, but they kept slide down the side and I didn’t have a lot of room to place the candy in the middle, so I dropped to 4 slices on each cupcake.