Chocolate-Mint Crackles

This recipe has been in my folder for years, it's from a Martha Stewart magazine date unknown. I was home yesterday getting caught up on house work and thought I'd make a quick cookie for Monday Supper (Sunday supper postponed a day!), these looked easy - although I didn't read all the way thru the instructions and realized too late the dough needed to be chilled for 3 hours, so not exactly a "quick" cookie! I got around that issue by throwing the dough in the freezer for about a half hour until the dough was chilled (but not frozen). These got mixed reviews: if you like a soft brownie-like cookie and mint then I think you'll like them, if you like thin crunchy non-minty cookies they might not be your favorite! I think they taste like Andes Mints, yum.

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon mint extract (note: I only put in 1/2 teaspoon and they're quite minty)
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

• Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until melted. (Note: I melted mine in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, follow package directions).
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and cocoa.
• In a larger bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, egg, and melted butter. Gradually whisk in melted chocolate and mint extract until smooth. Stir in flour mixture (note: I wasn't paying attention and tried to whisk in the flour but that was messy and sticky - switch to a spoon to incorporate the flour mixture). Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325'. Roll tagl3espoons of dough into balls using your palms, then roll in confectioners' sugar to coat. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each 1 inch apart. Bake until slightly firm in the center, about 15 minutes. (note: mine took between 13 and 14 minutes)
• Let cool slightly on sheets set on wire racks. Transfer cookies to racks, and let cool completely. 

Makes 30 cookies. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or rolled into balls and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Roll in confectioners' sugar just before baking. 

Store cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

1.30.18: baked ham and cheese sliders
1.30.17: heart cork wreath and trivet
1.30.16: sweet sunrise mocktail


Happy moment ~ no brainer, the smell of cookies baking in the oven

"Perfect" Cheesecake

You know the saying "do one thing a day that scares you"? Well today my scary thing is making cheesecake. I know, I know - food should not be scary. Bears, scary. Sharks, scary. Spinning blue wheel of death on my MacBook, scary. Instead of scary food let's just say that I find the thought of making cheesecake to be intimidating, anxiety-inducing, and stressful...so when my sis tells me that her co-worker has requested cheesecake this year for his birthday, I had a mini panic attack. Great, I'm already afraid of it and now I need to make one not only for someone's birthday but also for it to be shared with all the co-workers? Yikes. No pressure.

Needless to say, I spent lots of time reading tips and tricks for making the "perfect" cheesecake and came across this site titled, appropriately enough, "How to Make Perfect Cheesecake" (click here for the source). I'm skeptical in general when someone says their recipe is "perfect" but I followed her instructions and guess what? It turned out SO GOOD!! I didn't mess up anything - no cracks on the top, didn't over- or under- bake it, it's level and pretty, creamy and smooth...if there's such a thing as "perfect" then this is about as close as I'm going to come. Whew. High 5.

This seems like lots of steps but it's just because there are so many tips - read thru everything before starting, none of it is hard! Just follow the instructions and you'll be fine. This one went together so easily and turned out so good that I made a second cheesecake (strawberry swirled) the next day - I totally wouldn't do that if it was too hard! I followed the instructions given by the site above, and also added a few changes of my own that I incorporated from other sites I read...

Ingredients ~

 for the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons melted butter

for the cheesecake:

• 2 pounds full-fat cream cheese (4 8oz. boxes), room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk (save the white for another use)

Directions ~

for the crust:

Spray a 9" springform pan with non-stick baking spray, line the bottom with parchment (optional)

1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter together. 
2. Transfer it into the pan and use the bottom of a glass to press it evenly into the bottom. I didn't spread them up the sides but you can if you want.
3. Bake at 350' for 6 minutes; remove from oven and let cool before filling.

for the cheesecake:

• Cut two large pieces of foil and place them on your work surface on top of each other in a cross. Place a piece of parchment on top of the foil (so there are 3 layers total). Set the springform pan in the middle and fold the edges of the foil up and around the sides of the pan. The foil gives you extra protection against water getting into the pan during the water bath step. 

• Mix the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Or use an electric handheld mixer and a large bowl.) Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture is creamy, like thick frosting, and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Scrape down the beater and the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

• Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla, and beat on medium-low speed until combined and creamy. Scrape down the beater and sides of the bowl with a spatula.

• With the mixer on medium-low speed, beat in the eggs and the yolk one at a time. Wait until the previous egg is just barely mixed into the batter before adding the next one. At first, the mixture will look clumpy and broken, but it will come together as the eggs are worked in. Note: you don't want to over mix it once you're adding the eggs - it creates too much air in the batter and that could lead to cracking. Be gentle with this step.

• Scrape down the beater and sides of the bowl with a spatula. Stir the whole batter a few times by hand, being sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. The finished batter should be thick, creamy, and silky. Don't worry if you see a few specks of un-mixed cream cheese here and there; they will melt into the batter during baking and won't affect the finished cheesecake. 

• Put the batter in the fridge for at least an hour to chill it. 

• Pour the batter over the cooled crust and spread it into an even layer. Run a knife thru the batter a few times to release air bubbles. 

• Transfer the pan to a roasting pan or other baking dish big enough to hold the springform pan. Have a few cups of hot water standing by. 

• Put the roasting pan containing the cheesecake into the preheated 350’ oven, carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan being careful not to splash any water onto the cheesecake. Fill the roasting pan about half way up the sides of the springform pan (I used about 2 cups of hot water). This is creating a "water bath" for the cheesecake. 

• Bake for 55-60 minutes (for a 9" springform pan. You'll need to adjust the time for different sized pan). The cheesecake is done when the outer two to three inches look slightly puffed and set, but the inner circle still jiggles (like Jell-o) when you gently shake the pan. Some spots of toasted golden color are fine, but if you see any cracks staring to form move on to the next step right away.

• Leave the cheesecake in the oven. Turn off the oven and crack the door open (or prop it open with a wooden spoon). Let the cheesecake cool slowly for 1 hour.

• Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the water bath, unwrap the foil, and transfer it to a cooling rack. Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the cake to make sure it's not sticking to the sides (which can cause cracks as it cools). Let the cheesecake cool completely on the rack.

• Chill the cheesecake, uncovered, for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days in the refrigerator. This step is crucial for letting the cheesecake set and achieving perfect cheesecake texture - don't rush it.

• Take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you plan to serve. Unmold the cake and top the cheesecake just before serving.

notes: store leftovers uncovered in the fridge for several days, covering will cause condensation to build up.

ideas for topping your cheesecake:

• spread with a thin sweetened sour cream layer* (see below for recipe)
• pour soft chocolate ganache over the top
• add chopped fresh fruit
• spoon blueberry or strawberry sauce over top of individual slices

* to make an easy sour cream layer - stir together 1 cup of sour cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

For the record - my sis reported that someone said I probably put the sour cream layer on top to hide the cracks (I have pics to prove that it didn't crack, woohoo) so do what you want with that info. Maybe leave the topping off if you want to prove it didn't crack - and if it did crack? Big whoop. It's still going to taste delicious and really, is anyone not going to eat it because of that hahahah? 

Other birthday desserts I've made for my sister to take to work include:

2017: funfetti brownie cake
2016: sprinkles no-bake cheesecake
2015: giant whoopee pie (before I started the blog. I'll post that recipe in the future tho!)

White Chocolate Brownies with Sprinkles

Made these for my niece G's birthday - we took them to her last week (on our girls road trip) and didn't want to make cake that would fall apart or cupcakes that might dry out - so googled for other birthday dessert ideas that would travel well and found these white chocolate brownies full of sprinkles. They are pretty, chocolatey (even though it doesn't look it), and they arrived fresh and in one piece. Can't ask for much more than that in a birthday dessert! She kept cutting off little pieces saying she couldn't stop eating it - I'll take that as they are yummy in addition to being pretty :)

• 6 tablespoons very soft butter
• 8 oz. white chocolate (I used chips)
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sprinkles (I used regular sprinkles in the batter and topped with my sprinkle mix - click here for that post)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350'F.
2. In a glass bowl, melt the white chocolate according to package instructions (I put in micro for 30 seconds, stirred, then did 15 more seconds and stir again until super smooth)
3. Once melted and smooth, stir in the softened butter. Add sugar and mix will with a wooden spoon. Mix in the salt, vanilla, and eggs until incorporated. Stir in flour until well combined. Fold in the sprinkles until evenly distributed.
4. Spread batter into a greased 8" pan and add a few extra sprinkles on top. Bake for 28 minutes until it's set and lightly browned. Let cool before cutting into squares. 

serves 16. Found the recipe here. 

note: I cut parchment to fit the pan and lightly sprayed with non-stick spray so I could easily lift them out of the pan. Then I put in a large baggie to transport. 

she's a teenager and wouldn't
let me take her picture!! 

two years ago: see the earrings I made out of fish lures!

Cathy's Strawberry Pie

Cathy makes an incredible strawberry/pineapple layered pie that is SO good - she gave me the recipe a long time ago (because you know me, I'm not above begging for a fabulous recipe!) but until now I didn't have a picture to post with the recipe...and now I do. I'm not going to go on and on about how creamy, fruity, yummy, summery, and sweet this is - I don't have enough words. Just trust me, you want to make this pie.

Ingredients:

pre-baked pie crust (homemade or store bought, you decide)

8 oz. cream cheese
6 1/2 oz. crushed pineapple, drained but save the juice
3 T. sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups crushed strawberries
reserved pineapple juice
1 cup sugar
3-4 T. cornstarch

3-4 cups chopped strawberries

Cool whip, Reddi-Whip, or whipped cream if desired

Directions:

1. Mix together the cream cheese, crushed pineapple, 3 T. sugar, and vanilla, and pour into the piecrust.
2. In a saucepan combine crushed strawberries, pineapple juice, 1 cup sugar and the cornstarch. Cook until clear and thick. Cool.
3. Once it's cool add 3-4 cups chopped strawberries and pour over cream cheese layer. 
4. Refrigerate until it sets up. Top with whipped cream if using. 

Triple Berry Shortcake

Took these to Al and Cathy's Sunday for dessert; Al smoked ribs (yep, it's 92' and he smoked meat - thanks Al!) and we thought strawberry shortcake would be good for dessert, but since I just bought way too many blueberries and raspberries I decided to make a triple berry shortcake instead. Googled for a shortcake recipe and this one got good reviews, one tip on the site is that it works to replace the buttermilk with equal amount of yogurt - I used buttermilk and the only other change is I sprinkled coarse sugar on the tops. The verdict: Dave thinks they aren't sweet enough, I thought they were just right. You make them and decide!

1. 
   
2. For biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1. For filling
   • 12 oz raspberries (about 3 cups)
   • 6 oz blackberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
   • 2 tablespoons sugar
2. For cream
• 1 cup well-chilled heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
3. 
   
4. Make biscuits:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

1. 1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until a soft, sticky dough forms.
   2. Drop dough in 6 mounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes.
2. Make filling:
   
   1. While biscuits bake, gently mash half of berries with 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in remaining berries.
3. Make cream:
1. Beat cream together with sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
2. Carefully cut biscuits in half horizontally and arrange 1 bottom half, split side up, on each of 6 plates. Top each with berries, whipped cream, and other half of biscuit.
4. makes 6 biscuits.
5. 
   
6. found the recipe here.

Irish Cream Bundt Cake

I've made this bundt cake before and it's yummy - so I think I'll make it again for this years St. Patrick's Day dinner we are having on Saturday. Note I leave out the pecans because of Dave's allergies but otherwise just follow the directions:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix (omit if your cake mix already has pudding in it)
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur (like Bailey's)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
•  1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325'. Grease and flour a 10' bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto the serving dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake. Allow to absorb glaze, repeat until all glaze is used up.
4. To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. 

Note: I prefer to invert the cooled cake onto a different plate or rimmed pan while glazing - the glazing will run off and pool on the plate and you can scoop it up with a spoon or brush and keep glazing with the run-off until it's all absorbed. Then CAREFULLY transfer the cake to your serving plate. That way the serving dish doesn't have glaze all over it...You need a couple wide spatulas to transfer it - it breaks easily. Sorry I don't have a picture, it looks like a bundt cake tho so depending on if your pan is decorative or not will determine what it looks like! 

Shelley's Apple Pudding

Today is Dave's birthday so I want to share one of his all-time favorite desserts...Apple Pudding. I have no idea why it's called "pudding" because it's more like a thin spice cake but it's super moist with the pie filling in the batter so maybe that's it - and what can I say about the most delicious caramel-like sauce spooned over top of the warm cake other than it is heavenly. Truly a wonderful dessert!

Back story - early on in our relationship he took a fishing trip with the guys; Shelly, the cook at the lodge, made this one night and he took it upon himself to go back to the kitchen and ask her for the recipe for me. I didn't know him well enough at the time to know this is something he'd never done before, and he certainly hasn't done it since - this cake is that good :) So I have her hand-written recipe on a piece of notebook paper in my file, and Dave drew a little picture of himself on it with a big-ole belly indicating it's what he'd look like after eating this hahaha. I feel bad that I don't know what lodge he was at, or Shelley's last name, to give her credit - and she deserves it!

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 can apple pie filling

Cream sugar, butter and eggs. Add pie filling then remaining
ingredients. Mix thru. Bake 350' for 40 minutes.

Note the recipe doesn't say what size pan - I make it in a 13x9 sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, cut it into squares to serve, spoon the sauce over top. The cake is about an inch tall, you could probably make it in a smaller pan and have it be thicker but it's so good the way it turns out in the 13x9 I've never wanted to experiment with other sizes!

Sauce:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 Tablespoons vanilla

Heat in a saucepan, serve hot.


one year ago today: banana muffins

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

My friend Teri went on a road trip with her husband and boys, and just before they left I decided to make a treat for them to take...but just like with my sister's road trip granola bites I thought about this at the last minute and only had like an hour to make a treat before she was leaving. So once again I didn't have time to go to the store and had to make something using what I have on hand...I'm down to cocoa powder and an a half-empty bag of marshmallows (it's time to grocery stock and get my supplies back up!) so googled ideas for something using those two ingredients and came up with this (click here for source) - and they turned out pretty good! They are a little gooey and messy but the flavor is really good so it's worth needing a wet wipe after eating them hahaha. Teri said her boys loved them :)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 34 large marshmallows (or if you cut each one in half you'll need 17. see below)
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) un-salted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar, plus additional for the outside of the cookies
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla

Directions:

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In another bowl, mix flour and other dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture. The dough should be thick enough that you can shape it into flattened disks. 

To assemble: make balls of dough using a 2 T. cookie scoop, then flatten into a disk big enough to cover a marshmallow (or half a marshmallow if you prefer). 

wrap the dough around the marshmallow

Put a marshmallow in the center and close the dough up around the marshmallow making sure you completely cover it, you shouldn't be able to see any white at this point. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400' for 8-10 minutes.

completely cover the marshmallow

They are done when the cookies start to crack open and you can see melted marshmallow. Remove from oven and cool, leave on the baking sheet for a couple minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack - letting them set up a bit makes it easier to remove the baking sheet. 

Makes about 33 big cookies.

the difference between a whole marshmallow (on the left) and half (on the right)

Note: when I did a whole marshmallow they worked good but lots of marshmallow runs out and it gets quite messy. So I switched to half a marshmallow and not so much ran out but also there wasn't as much marshmallow "filling" that way - I'd recommend making a couple each way before doing the whole batch so you can see which you prefer. The ones with more marshmallow probably taste better 'cuz they are gooier but they are also quite delicate because they crack so much, not as "pretty". The half marshmallow still tastes good and holds it shape better, but not as "marshmallowy"...so depends on what you're going for!

one year ago today: fix those uncomfortable (but cute) shoes! 

Caramel Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

I forgot to take a picture until there was only
one slice left! Just trust me that it was pretty :)

Brooke and I had another "Chopped" competition - this time we got to pick whatever we wanted to make for dessert instead of pulling ingredients out of a hat like last time (click here for that post). She made an oreo cheesecake with mousse topping and I decided to make a cherry pie. We went to the store for supplies and what do you know, our little grocery store didn't carry cherry pie filling, or any cherries for that matter - so I switched to apple. Instead of making my own filling I went with store-bought apple pie filling and doctored it a little by adding a bit of lemon juice and some cinnamon. I wasn't being lazy not making my own - I just had the rest of the meal to make and didn't have much time! I will post Brooke's dessert later and you can guess which of us won... for now here is my pie:


Ingredients:

• unbaked deep dish pie shell
• 2 cans apple pie filling
• 1/2 cup caramel topping
• lemon juice and cinnamon (to doctor the pie filling and make it taste more homemade)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon sugar (I used raw turbinado sugar - it's crunchier)

Spread 1/4 cup caramel topping in the bottom of an unbaked deep dish pie shell, topped with the doctored apple pie filling.

In a separate bowl combine 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup flour, and 2/3 cup brown sugar. Mix together with a pastry cutter, food processor,  or your fingers until crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over the pie filling and then sprinkle on 1 Tablespoon of sugar over top of that.

Bake at 375' for 50 - 60 minutes until done - watch that the crust doesn't burn. If it gets too brown cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil. After you remove from the oven drizzle another 1/4 cup caramel over the top. Let cool.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Yum! That's all I'm gonna say...other than you gotta make these!

For the cookies I just made a batch of Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice cookies (they are a seasonal item - it's a mix. Click here for a different time I made them with cream cheese frosting), using my small cookie scoop to make small round dough balls. I got 42 out of one mix (so that'll make 21 mini whoopie pies), bake according to the package directions.

For the filling:

Beat together 1/2 cup shortening, 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1Tablespoons milk (more if you need it for consistency) until light and fluffy. Then beat in 1 small jar of marshmallow fluff (7 oz.). Using the same small cookie scoop, put 1 scoop filling on the underside of one cookie, then top with another forming little whoopie pies.

Again, yum.

took these to a party, added some mummy pretzels and the
whole thing was gone SO fast! Click here for the pretzel how-to. 

pumpkin nutella cookie bars

Mimi 🍰:

I GOT YOUR BOX!!!!!

Omg it smells so good! 

Omg. Stuffed w Nutella. Omg omg omg so delicious 

The fricken best thing ever

         They're great!!!!! So so good. Thank you so so much!

That's the text my niece sent after she got these pumpkin nutella bars in the mail from me - a few weeks ago she sent me a pin from Pinterest with a note that she hoped they would come in the mail hahaha. So I thought I'd do just that for her.   If any of my other nieces want something in the mail they should let me know ;)

Shipping them was easy - remove the entire baked thing from the pan by lifting the foil out and leave them whole instead of cutting up into bars, wrap tight in more foil and bubble wrap and then put in a priority box. It took 3 days for her to get them and she said they were still all in one piece and super moist - this is a winner recipe for sure!

I (for once) didn't change a thing - found the recipe here at crazy for crust. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup Nutella

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350'. Line a 9x9" pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. Place melted butter, pumpkin, and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer if you prefer). Mix until smooth, about 30 seconds. Mix in egg yolk, baking soda, salt, spices, and vanilla. Mix in flour until batter is smooth. It'll be a soft batter.

3. Press half the batter in the bottom of the pan. The batter is sticky so you may want to spray your hands with cooking spray. It'll be a thin layer in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes.

4. Place Nutella in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for just a few seconds until pourable. Pour evenly over the top of the partially baked crust. Spread it carefully so it doesn't rip the cookie bars. Scoop tablespoons of batter of the top and carefully spread with your fingers. It won't be a smooth layer but will mostly cover.

5. Bake an additional 17-20 minutes until the top is no longer glossy and the edges are golden brown. Cool completely before slicing.

6. Makes 16 bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. 

Brownie, Oreo, and Reese's Ice Cream Cake

I asked Brooke if she wanted me to make or buy her a dessert for her birthday dinner last night (that's usually my assignment - yay!), she texted back "MAKE". I replied "did you just yell that at me?" and she said "no, I screamed it at you"! Ok then, I guess I'm making it hahaha. I laughed. Her request? Ice cream cake, any flavor as long as it has peanut butter please.

First I baked the brownie crust (using 1/2 of a boxed mix) in the bottom of a 8.5" springform pan, then put the other layers on top. Note * I will do this differently next time and bake the brownie in a different 8.5" pan, then put it in the springform pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and lined with plastic wrap...the brownie baked in the bottom made the cake SO hard to get out this way! The pan really needs to be sprayed and lined before assembling the cake. Fair warning people. Other than that this is a super easy dessert to make - really you just wing it, whatever flavors you like and use your imagination for toppings and candy.

first layer of fudge, cookies and
peanut butter cups

For this one I put on a layer of chocolate ice cream (let it stand on the counter for a few minutes to soften up, then mix it well so it's smooth but not melted), put in the freezer until it's hardened up. Warm a jar of hot fudge until it's spreadable and put a layer of that on top of the ice cream followed by chopped up oreo cookies and chopped mini reese's peanut butter cups. Freeze again. Then add a layer of peanut butter ice cream (I just put vanilla ice cream in a bowl and using my electric mixer beat in a big spoonful of peanut butter - voila, peanut butter ice cream), freeze. To finish I spread a thin layer of cool whip on top, drizzled with additional warmed hot fudge (I put it in a ziplock baggie and cut off the tip to control the drizzling), topped with more chopped oreos and reese's. Freeze until ready to serve.

finished peanut butter cake

Now here's a funny thing - since not everyone at the party could eat peanut butter (Dave), I thought I'd be nice and make a second ice cream cake using the other half of the brownie mix, topped with chocolate ice cream, hot fudge and chopped oreos, topped with banana split ice cream, finished with cool whip and chocolate drizzle. Everyone except my sister ate the banana split one! Even Brooke - after she specifically asked for peanut butter. Good grief. I left both of the cakes with my sister, hopefully someone helps her eat the peanut butter one - there was a ton left!

banana split cake

top of banana split cake before the
drizzle froze to the aluminum
foil I wrapped the cake in, and then
 pulled off when unwrapping. ugh.
note to self - wrap these in plastic!

Raspberry and Whipped Cream Filled White Birthday Cake

That's a long title I know, I don't know how better to describe it though - oh, and there's raspberry buttercream frosting! OMG this is one of the best cakes I've made in a long time. It's wicked good - fluffy and melt in your mouth delicious.

I doctored a boxed white cake mix: replace the oil with melted butter, add an extra egg, and a dash of vanilla. I just read about a different technique I've never heard before, which is to lightly sprinkle sugar on top of the batter before you put it in the oven, they say it helps the cakes to not dome up too much - ok, I'll try it. Bake according to directions, I tend to pull them out a couple minutes before the suggested time. Run a knife around the edges, flip the cakes onto a cooling rack but leave the pans over top of them until they are totally cool. I feel like this helps keep them moist. Yep, the sugar on top of batter worked - cakes are pretty flat so I won't have to trim them down, yay! I poorly divided up the batter and got one cake bigger than the other (usually I measure better) so I cut the bigger one in half - it's now a 3 layer cake. If you get even layers it'd be fine to just do 2 layers - although more layers means more filling...just sayin'...

I tried a new thing - lightly sprinkle sugar on top of the
batter before baking to help keep them from doming too much. 

run a knife around the edges, flip over onto cooling
 rack - leave the pans on top of cakes until completely cool.

oops, didn't measure batter very good, got uneven
layers so I cut the taller one in half - this is now a 3 layer cake.

Now the really delicious part - filling and frosting!

-Filling is seedless raspberry jam and very lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. I added a little scoop of the buttercream to the whipped cream but that made it break down a little, next time I will just do stiffly whipped cream.

-Raspberry Buttercream Frosting: Beat in a mixer 1cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), approx. 5 cups powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, 5 Tablespoons heavy cream for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in a couple tablespoons of the seedless raspberry jam, then add more cream or powdered sugar to make it the right spreading consistency.

To assemble:
Put down one layer on a cake plate or whatever you are serving it on, brush with 2 Tablespoons seedless raspberry jam. To help keep the whipped cream from squishing out I piped a circle of buttercream around the top edge of the layer (over the jam) and filled with whipped cream. Top with another cake layer; repeat brushing jam, making a frosting dam, and filling with whipped cream. Put the last layer on top, cut side down. Frost the entire cake with a thin crumb coat (essentially frost the whole cake with thinned down buttercream to make the cake have a smooth base and cover up loose crumbs), put in freezer for a few minutes to set up. To finish, I frosted the sides pretty smooth (I didn't do it super perfect) and made large swirly flowers with a large 1M frosting tip. It's a very easy thing to do - just hold the tip 90' (straight down) to the top of the cake and starting in the center of each flower squeeze out frosting while directing the tip in a spiral. It sort of looks like a wedding cake more than a birthday cake haha, but it's spring and for a womans birthday so I think it's fine. You can frost this using whatever technique you want, just smooth it on or swirl it with a spoon - it tastes so good it doesn't really matter if there are swirly flowers on top!

brush bottom 2 layers with jam, pipe an edge of buttercream  on the top edge to help keep the whipped cream from squishing out. Don't overfill with the whipped cream. 

frost entire cake with a crumb coat, chill for a few minutes to set  up. 

using a 1M tip swirl spirals of frosting on top to look like flowers. 

I tied balloons onto skewers to stick in the top of the birthday cake for decoration (and to help it look
less like a wedding cake!). I made this for a friend who is having a dinner party so didn't want to stick the balloons in yet.  

I made a baby tester cake from the batter before baking - spoon out a little bit into a greased ramekin and bake along side the 9" cake layers. That way I could taste what this cake will be like!

Strawberry Refrigerator Jam and Lazy Ice Cream Cake

I needed a quick dessert for Sunday Supper and decided I'd try this recipe after reading that it works for spreading on toast or as ice cream topping. I doubled it because it says it yields 1.5 cups and I didn't think that would be enough for 8 people - of course it ended up making way more than I needed...oh well, extra strawberry sauce is not going to go to waste!

This turned out very runny which made it perfect to serve over ice cream - I'm not sure where they came up with naming this "jam" but it worked for me. If you actually want to make refrigerator jam to spread on toast this is not the recipe I would recommend you follow. However, if you want delicious ice cream topping this is a winner.

I made a lazy version of ice cream cake to serve the topping over. I have made much "fancier" ice cream cakes and I'm feeling a little guilty that this one is so easy - my original dessert idea was just vanilla ice cream in a bowl with strawberry sauce but I thought I'd put in just a little more effort and make it more interesting. This isn't much of a "recipe" but it turned out really good so I'll share with you what I did:

Line a loaf pan with non stick foil. Preheat oven to 350'.
Put 1 cup of chocolate teddy grahams in the food processor with a pinch of salt. Grind to fine crumbs. Mix in a couple tablespoons of melted unsalted butter.

Press into the bottom of the loaf pan, bake for 10 minutes.

After the crust cools, spread 1/2 of a half gallon (I guess I could have said 1/4 gallon haha) of chocolate ice cream thats been softened (I just leave it on the counter for about 1/2 hour) on top of the crust and smooth the top. Put the loaf pan in the freezer until the ice cream hardens. Then do the same with vanilla ice cream (spread 1/4 gallon of softened vanilla ice cream over the chocolate ice cream and freeze until hard).
When you are ready to serve, remove the "cake" from the pan by pulling up the foil. Remove the foil and then slice the ice cream into whatever size portions you want - I started with small slices and got lots of complaints so had to make them bigger! This served 8 of us with no leftovers.
Spoon strawberry sauce over the ice cream.



Obviously you can use whatever flavors of ice cream you want, I kept it simple this time.