Category Archives: Postaweek2011

Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Muffins

25 Friday Feb 2011

Posted by in Baking, Breakfast, Cakes & Pies, Dessert, From a Mix, Muffins & Quick Breads, Postaweek2011, Recipes

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Have a spare cake mix just screaming to be used? I did. As I’ve said before, I have no shame in using a cake mix. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy “from scratch” baking too. So the other morning I had some spare time before I woke the house up and threw these together. The recipe is extremely easy and yields a tasty breakfast option. You can mix and match for flavors too, but I went with the kids favorite, chocolate chip. Here is the base recipe…

Cake Mix Muffins (Chocolate Chip)

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 (4 serving) box instant vanilla pudding
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup oil, vegetable or canola
  • 1/4 tsp extract (vanilla or almond)
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used mini)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Line 2 muffin pans with paper cups or use baking spray.

Combine all ingredients except for chocolate chips. Stir until moist then fold in chocolate chips. The batter will be lumpy, don’t over-stir. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake 23 – 29 minutes. Note I filled the cups nearly full and it yielded 18 muffins. As you can see they don’t rise a lot, so I don’t think you can overfill them.

I hope you enjoy this shortcut recipe. The original recipe came from the book “101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix” by Stephanie Ashcraft and it was for a double chocolate chip muffin using a fudge cake mix and chocolate instant pudding.

Oreo Truffle Hearts

15 Tuesday Feb 2011

Posted by in Candy, Cookies, Dessert, Postaweek2011, Recipes

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Oreo Truffles are no secret to the food blog world, especially with Valentine’s day, but hey, I liked how these turned out, so why not post on them! Besides, it will ensure I get my post a week in… (LOL). This is your classic 3 ingredient truffle made with cream cheese, Oreos and candy coating. I would say it is pretty user-friendly. After I combined the first two ingredients I rolled level tablespoon spheres (I hate the other word) and placed them in the freezer to harden. Then I used a small heart-shaped fondant cutter resulting in these cute, one-bite heart truffles. I will post the recipe just in case you don’t know it.

P.S. I really don’t care for Valentine’s Day. It is so commercialized and a financial rip off, but I have three kids and I don’t want to be a Valentine Scrooge…

Oreo Truffle Hearts

adapted from, well anywhere.com

Ingredients:

  • 1 package double stuff cookies (less about 10)
  • 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
  • Candy Coating for melting

Directions:

Finely crush the Oreo cookies (a food processor is ideal here) and combine with cream cheese until well blended. Roll into desired shape and size and refrigerate or freeze until hardened.

Melt candy coating according to package directions, dip and let the coating dry before indulging.

 

MIA & Double Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies

12 Saturday Feb 2011

Posted by in Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Postaweek2011, Recipes

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It has been an exciting few weeks, to say the least. Ok, exaggerating completely. I have been MIA from my blog for several weeks. I hate that too. It has just been hectic and everyone in the family has been trading virus’. The most recent one knocked 4 of the 5 of us out for several days. Don’t get me wrong though, I haven’t starved my family, I just haven’t had the time or energy to photograph and post on the recipes. I have been experimenting with new dinner recipes too – but haven’t taken pictures and I don’t like to post without them. I am hoping now I will have a little more time to devote to this blog… and to the kitchen!

On to the reason I am typing now… I have had this weight watchers cookbook for over two years and scan these cookies quite often. I don’t do WW, I just prefer to purchase cookbooks that have nutritional values listed… and often these tend to be diet cookbooks. Here is the recipe taken directly from the Weight Watchers 20 Minute Recipes, Fall 2008 cookbook. The recipe is quite easy and it’s not a terrible choice for a chocolate treat, especially with this coming Monday… Valentine’s day (and I will save my opinion of this day, I am just not a fan). Taste you ask? I didn’t actually try one (shame, shame) but my daughter said they were really good. I like the fact that it is a rich cookie, but the richness is mellowed out by the white chocolate and the oatmeal.

Double Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup uncooked regular oats
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • Dash of salt
  • 1 ounce white chocolate, chopped (I used chips)

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this is important)

In a large bowl combine the first five ingredients, beat until smooth.

Combine the oats, flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, stirring just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart on parchment. Bake for 9 minutes or until cookie centers are almost done. Remove and cool for 1 minute on pan then transfer to wire rack to cool completely (or indulge in a warm one!)

Makes about 10 cookies

Per serving (1 cookie): Calories: 109, Fat: 4.3g, Sat Fat 2.4 g, Protein 2 g, Carbs 17g, Fiber 1.1g, WW Points (old) 2 points

*Update, thank you to Susitrvl at Mad for Mexican Food for calculating the WW points in the new system – they total 3 points!

This post is linked to Sweets for a Saturday at Sweet as Sugar Cookies - check it out!