Double Chocolate Cheesecake

I mentioned last week that my hubby always gets cheesecake for his birthday. Seriously lucky guy. ;) I also mentioned that last year he got a Double Chocolate Cheesecake for his birthday. It's only taken me a year to get to it, but I'm finally sharing that recipe with you!

This cheesecake is super rich and decadently chocolate. It was almost too much for me. But for all you chocolate lovers out there, this is fabulous stuff! It's also not too difficult as far as cheesecakes go. You just beat everything together, pop it in the oven, bake it up and let it set. Then eat. :) Because it's so rich, I think some unsweetened whipping cream would be really tasty on top. Or some blueberries or blackberries to help break up the chocolate. Of course, some people don't mind the chocolate and if you're one of those people, then eating it without anything topping it might be the way to go!

Double Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe from Kraft
Time: 20 minutes, plus refrigeration
Makes: 16 servings

24 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed {about 2 cups}
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg (8 squares) Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled {any other brand of baking chocolate would also work, this just seems to be the most popular brand}
4 eggs

Directions:
Heat oven to 325. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan lined with foil. Bake for 10 minutes.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low after each addition, just until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil to life cheesecake from pan. Top with berries or whipping cream.

Light and Fluffy No-Bake Cheesecake

My husband recently celebrated a birthday. Birthdays are kind of a big deal to me. I love to go all out for birthdays, have fun traditions and celebrate like crazy. For my husband's birthday, which fell on a weekday this year, I actually got up early and prepared a huge breakfast - and I am talking huge. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit. Now you all know I love me some breakfast food, but I don't love getting up super early just to prepare it before the day even gets started, so I rarely make breakfast foods for breakfast. But the fact that I prepared a huge breakfast for my hubby for his birthday is pure testament to the fact that I love birthdays -- and that I love my husband, of course. :)

You may have noticed that the title of this post indicated a recipe for cheesecake would be included. And you may be thinking that I also included cheesecake in the lineup of delicious breakfast treats. I didn't, don't worry. But we did have cheesecake for hubby's birthday cake that evening {after we had completely gorged ourselves on Famous Dave's brisket and barbequed chicken - they have an awesome e-mail club and sent us a fantastic "gift" for hubby's birthday. We really enjoyed it! [just a note: Famous Dave's is not promoting this post or blog in any way. They don't really even know I exist. We just like their food and we especially love good deals.] man, I love birthdays!}. I'm not sure how this tradition got started or why, but I always fix a cheesecake of some kind for my hubby's birthday. A few years ago I made White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars for his birthday. Last year I made a Double Chocolate Cheesecake {recipe to be posted soon!}. See what I mean? Lots of cheesecake! This year I made what could possibly be his favorite cheesecake ever - a recipe his mom made for them growing up. I'll admit it, I'm a huge baked cheesecake fan, so I don't make this recipe often {in fact, I've only ever made it once before}. But, the hubby loves it and it is a lot easier than a baked cheesecake. Sometimes, even though I love birthdays and love going "all out", I need something a little easy.

This cheesecake is positively light and fluffy. It's perfect for the summer when you want a little something sweet while still keeping cool. It is also perhaps the easiest cheesecake you'll ever make in your life. So do yourself a favor and make it up. :)

Light and Fluffy No-Bake Cheesecake
Recipe from Olive Harwood
Time: approximately 1 - 1 1/2 hours, including refrigeration time
Makes: 12-16 servings, depending on how big you cut your pieces

1 can evaporated milk, chilled in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours {though I just let mine chill overnight}
1 small package lemon Jell-O
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup water
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
16 graham crackers
Topping of choice - options include pie fillings, Danish dessert, or fresh fruit

Directions:
Take your graham crackers and chop them up really fine in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, put them in a plastic baggie and crush them really good with a rolling pin or something else hard. You want them to be super fine crumbs. This is the crust and large chunks of graham cracker just won't be as good. Once they are chopped up nice and fine, pour them into a 9x13 pan and spread them evenly. Set aside.
Get your cup of water to boiling. Add the lemon jell-o and the lemon juice. Stir until dissolved. Set aside and allow it to begin setting up. You want it to get about to the consistency of egg whites. This takes around 30 minutes, depending on how quickly it cools, but still keep an eye on it. Once it starts to set up, it does so quickly. You won't want it to fully set up because then you'd have to start over. No one wants to have to start over.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy and light.
Whip the cooled evaporated milk until nice and frothy. Add the jell-o and cream cheese mixtures. Beat until fully incorporated and fluffy.
Pour over the graham crackers you placed in your 9x13 pan. Allow to set for 30-60 minutes before topping.

Lemonade Cheesecake Pie

Remember that sinful, sugary, sweet, delicious goodness I was talking about in my last post? Yes, this is one of those recipes. If you are on a diet, I highly recommend turning away right now because this recipe might just ruin it for you.

 Look away! Quick!

See how beautiful that looks? Ah. Now, if you didn't look away and you are now tempted to trash your diet and make this delicious looking pie, don't say I didn't warn you. ;)



I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but in mine it's starting to get warm. I have to admit that I really love me some dessert. Also, I'm a baker. I love to bake. But in the summer time, turning on my oven usually means adding at least 3-4 degrees of heat to my entire house and when you struggle to keep your house at a liveable, breathable temperature as it is, those extra degrees are not often worth the sacrifice. So I try not to bake in the summertime. But then I get this itch and have a super strong desire to make something, anything, and I have to find some way to fill the baking void that has been made in my life. Desserts like this kind of save me. I can make something and feel fulfilled - and get the dessert I often am sure I desperately need.





Lemonade Cheesecake Pie
Recipe from Kraft

Total time: 10 minutes, plus refrigeration
Makes: 8 servings

1 pkg cream cheese, softened {trust me when I say you won't want reduced fat...your cheesecake will be runny and mushy and not very pretty ... not that I know anything from first hand experience}
1/2 cup thawed frozen lemonade concentrate
1 tub cool whip, thawed and divided
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 1/2 cup fresh berries {I've made this using strawberries and blackberries - just a tip: if using blackberries, you may need more sugar than is listed unless yours are already fairly sweet}
2 Tbsp sugar

Directions:
Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually add concentrate, beating well after each addition. Whisk in 2 cups cool whip; spoon into crust.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Meanwhile, toss berries with sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pipe or spoon remaining cool whip onto pie in whatever fashion you desire {you'll notice that in my photo I didn't desire any extra cool whip - I don't really think it needs it, but it does make it look prettier if that's what you're going for}. Top with berries.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares :)

I know, i know.. its Wednesday not Tuesday. I was so busy yesterday I apologize :( but I am here now! Update on the weight loss--- I have lost 10lbs!! :) So i have to lose 10 more in a month to win the competition.... kinda getting nervous! My husband has to lose 9lbs!! This might be a close race!!

I decided I would post a healthy baked treat today since I never post dessert like things!
I got this recipe from http://gingerbreadbagels.com/2011/03/22/peanut-butter-banana-oatmeal-squares/
and she uses this for a breakfast. I feel it can be a good breakfast or a good dessert.

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares!! 

Sorry for the bad pics....

 

 

 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oat
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (i just used sea salt)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large mashed banana
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions
Mix together the quick cooking oats, light brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and ground cinnamon.
Add in the vanilla extract, milk and egg. Mix the ingredients together.
Then add in the mashed banana and peanut butter. Combine all of the ingredients.
Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 8 by 8 inch metal baking pan. ( i did mine in a different pan i do not have an 8x8)
Bake at 350 F degrees for 20 minutes.
Cut into squares and enjoy!


As you can see this is a very easy quick thing to make!!


Her blog shows amazing pictures of every step! However the only thing in her picture that was different then how my turned out... is hers look thin and crispy like... however they puff up like brownies or cake. Mine did turn out kind of dry but you can spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the top and drink a glass of a milk with it and they are great!! Plus the bonus of knowing they are not horrible for you!!  ( i apologize for the bad pics)



Enjoy!!!

Holiday Sugar Rush: Vanilla Butterfinger Cupcakes

This is the very last sugar rush recipe I'm going to post. I don't know about you, but that is probably enough sugar for me!

I've saved something pretty fantastic for the last sugar rush recipe, though. These cupcakes are deliciously  good. Seriously. Amazingly. Wonderfully. Yummy. They are also pretty easy. I made them up after a whirlwind all-day-long baking day. We were supposed to take a dessert to my husband's work Christmas party and we had to be there in two hours, plus still make sure our little one got dinner and put to bed before we left. I was able to pull it off because these cupcakes were so easy. And I believe they earned four stars from the reviews everyone sitting at our table gave me. Easy and delicious. That's good enough in my book.

Vanilla Butterfinger Cupcakes
Recipe from Your Cup of Cake
Makes: 24 cupcakes

1 box vanilla cake mix with pudding in the mix
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp oil
2 egg whites + 1 whole egg
1 cup buttermilk {see note below}
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and line two cupcake pans with liners.
In a small bowl, sift the cake mix to remove any lumps. Add cinnamon and stir. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine egg whites, whole egg, and oil together. Mix just until combined - you don't want to over beat it.
Add buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla to egg mixture and stir to combine.
Slowly add cake mix to egg mixture and stir just until cake mix is entirely moistened.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan. 

Vanilla Butterfinger Buttercream:
3/4 cup {1 1/2 sticks} of salted butter, softened {you can use unsalted but I prefer the flavor of salted}
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 crushed Butterfinger bars

Directions:
Beat butter and peanut butter on high for 3 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Add vanilla and add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition,  until it reaches desired consistency. Add sour cream and mix well. Add more powdered sugar if needed then stir in the crushed Butterfinger pieces.
Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with additional crushed Butterfinger pieces. Ta-da! Some delicious cake.

Halloween Themed Food

I've been saving up most of the goodies for this post since last year! I am so excited to finally be sharing. I'll just put here a bunch of ideas for Halloween themed food that you can use for the dinner party I'm sure you're planning. :)

Everything on this list is pretty simple to make, though it can take some time. But it's all so worth it. Have a spooktacular time!!

First for the hors d'oeuvres. :)

Jack-O-Lantern Oreos
Melt down some orange candy melts {I used Wilton brand and bought them at Walmart} according to package directions.
Dip your Oreo into the melted candy.
Smooth it out so you have a somewhat flat surface for your jack-o-lantern. Allow the candy to harden. You can pop these in the refrigerator to speed up that process.
Once the orange candy is hardened, pipe on jack-o-lantern faces using black frosting.
I think these would be a lot of fun with lollypop sticks stuck through the center {just be sure you get double stuffed so they don't fall apart}.

Now time for dinner. 

Mummy Dogs:
Wrap hotdogs in crescent roll dough. Bake in a 350 degree oven or until crescent dough is golden brown. Use ketchep or mustard to give the mummy some eyes. Eat up!

Bones n' Blood:
For this recipe you use bread stick or pizza dough {here's a recipe until I can get you mine}. Roll the dough out and cut it into two inch strips, with whatever length you'd like your bones to be. On each end, use sharp kitchen shears and cut into the bread stick, right in the center {does that even make sense?}. Curl the edges out and around and stick them to the long part of the "bone". Bake according to directions. Serve with marinara sauce.
 
 
Spiderweb Pizza:
If you want toppings {including cheese} on this pizza, just put them on the pizza crust before the sauce. Then put your pizza sauce on top of that. Using ranch or alfredo sauce, pipe {for lack of a better word} concentric circles onto the pizza. Place a few olive slices to be the "spiders". Bake the pizza according to directions. When it's all baked up, slice it up to create the web.

Candy Corn Pizza:
This is a basic cheese pizza, using at least two different kinds of cheeses. You'll need a white cheese {I used mozzarella} and a yellow cheese {I used cheddar}. Put the white cheese in the very center of the pizza {and I suggest using more white cheese than orange so it doesn't get taken over as mine practically did} and the orange cheese around the outside. Bake it. Slice it. Eat it. Yum!




 Mashed Potato Ghost:
This might be the easiest thing in this post. Maybe. And isn't it so stinkin' cute?? I love this. I can't claim this idea at all. My sister-in-law did this and I think it's so much fun!
Anyway, it's easy. Whip up your mashed potatoes and then pile them onto a plate in a big mound. Add two olives or black beans for eyes. Voila! Potato Ghost. I think this would be really cute as a bunch of small, individual potato ghost mounds, too. Have fun with it!

Not the greatest photo. Sorry. Check out the link for a better one.

Mummy Meatloaf:
We got this idea from Family Fun and isn't it fun?  
Here's how to make it:
Make up your meatloaf. {We used this recipe but I think it would be delicious using this recipe and even using the glaze.}
In a 9x13 pan, form the meatloaf into the shape of a mummy. Don't forget the arms! {Suggestion: line your pan with tin foil. You'll be happier.}
Bake it according to directions until the meatloaf is done.
When it is done, place mozzarella slices all over the meatloaf to give the mummy his wrapping. The thinner the slices, the better it looks and the faster it melts. We used toothpicks to hold some of the cheese on until it melted.
Put it back in the hot oven for 3-4 minutes or until completely melted.
Place two olive slices for eyes on the mummy's head. Mmm.

Now for the best part: Dessert!

 Brainiac Cupcakes:
These cupcakes are so so easy.
Just bake up your favorite cupcakes.
Make some buttercream frosting. {I'll work on getting a recipe up for that.} Tint it a light orange/pink color {note: if you use gel coloring instead of liquid coloring, you'll get a richer, truer color}. Frost the cupcakes with a thin layer of the frosting {you can see I frosted mine with white - I didn't have enough orange} and put the rest in a baggie. Cut the tip from the baggie and just draw squiggle lines on the cupcake. Ta-da! Brains! :)

 Bloodshot Eye Cupcake:
These cupcakes are almost too much for me. Yes, I have a thing with the way things look grossing me out. But these are sure fun to make {and quite a favorite, actually}.
Bake your cupcakes.
Make some frosting.

Take out three parts of the white frosting. Tint one blue {or some other color you think would be good for an eye}, one red and one black. Again, if you use gel coloring you'll be able to get a true black color. You'll need more blue than red and black, so just plan the amounts of frosting accordingly. Put all the tinted frostings in their own plastic baggies. Cut a small corner of the black and red frosting bag and a larger corner of the blue frosting bag.
Frost the cupcakes in white.
Pipe on some blue for the eye's iris.
Pipe some black onto the blue for the pupil of the eye.
Pipe red in lots of little squiggly lines from the iris out.

Skeleton Cupcakes:
For this cupcake {idea from Family Fun}, I made chocolate cupcakes and chocolate buttercream frosting. Before adding the cocoa to my frosting, I reserved a bit of the white frosting for the skeleton bodies. Frost all the cupcakes with the chocolate frosting. Place a miniature marshmallow at one side of the cupcakes for the skeleton's head. Pipe the bodies by drawing a little stick figure under the marshmallow and adding two lines across the center of his body to give him ribs. You can pipe on some black decorators gel for the face or do like I did and just use a toothpick dipped in black frosting to draw the faces on. 

 Spiderweb Cupcakes:
Easy peasy.
Bake your cupcakes.
Frost with white frosting.
Draw concentric circles {three or four} around the cupcake using black frosting or decorators gel. Gel probably looks the best. But if you use frosting like me, don't be like me and wait to finish the webs until all your cupcakes have circles. They look better if you pipe on the circles and then pull the toothpick through right after so the frosting doesn't have any time to set up.
Using a toothpick, pull lines from the center outward, creating the web.
Done!

Fuzzy Monster Cupcakes:
These are currently my favorite! Aren't they so cute?
Bake your cupcakes.
Make your frosting. Reserve a small amount of white frosting; you'll color the rest. Tint half of it orange and then flavor the other half with cocoa powder. Then pipe your frosting onto the cupcakes like grass. I used Wilton tip 18, which is a star tip, but you could also use a grass tip. {For a quick tutorial on how to pipe with this technique, check out this video.} Then pipe two white circles onto the cupcake for the eyes. Finish it off by piping a small black circle onto the white using black frosting or decorators gel.

There you have it! Some yummy and very fun Halloween food ideas! Have a fun party!

Friday with Tierra!

Hey all!! I know I disappeared there for a long while! Im sure you were all just so worried... lol.. Well I am alive... I got so busy with work that I kept forgetting and the next thing you know a couple months has gone by! I sincerely apologize!
Sorry for letting you down Jessica but I am going to do my best to start back up on Tuesdays. Since we got smart phones I never get on the computer and currently our internet isnt wireless so I havent been getting on as much. Anyway i know excuses excuses!

Well today I am gonna share a recipe I got off of pinterest.com. It is such a simple fast, easy snack!

Pretzel Bites!
http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/?p=932

Ingredients

5-10 thawed Rhodes Rolls (1 roll makes 4 bites)
1/2 cup melted butter
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture (1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
1/2 cup finely graded parmesan cheese

Directions

Once Rolls are thawed take a sharp knife and cut into four pieces like your cutting a pizza.
Get a medium sized sauce pan and bring water to a boil. Plop no more then 10 pieces into the boiling water for about 45 seconds. They will puff up. Use a slotted spoon to take them out and placed on a cookie sheet with a paper towel laid down to soak up the excess water. They might deflate a little but not to worry it will all work out!
Once you are all done with that place them on a greased cookie sheet and put in the oven to bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. (Now i have a gas stove so the heat comes from the bottom and not the top. So they did not all get golden brown and you have to watch the bottoms so they dont burn. In my oven it only took about 10 minutes)
While that is baking melt the 1/2 cup of butter and put in a big ziploc baggy. Also put the Cinnamon Sugar mixture in another big ziploc baggy.
When bites are done first put them in the butter, seal the bag and shake!!! Then add into the Cinnamon Sugar, seal the bag, and shake!! Use tongs to take them out and place on a plate.
You can also do just plain ones with butter and sea salt!
You can also shake them in a bag with butter, Parmesan and garlic. Which I did but the Parmesan was not the right kind so didnt work but my husband liked them!

A couple of different sauces to use from that blog are: (I made the vanilla glaze one which was great but i did not do the cheese one. My friend who was with me made a glaze with just powdered sugar and orange juice!! It was my favorite!!)

VANILLA GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Combine sugar, milk, butter and vanilla and mix well.

CHEDDAR DIP

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 1/2 to 2 cups of grated Cheddar Cheese.

Melt the butter in a med. size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until blended, and

butter has turned lightly golden brown. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar Cheese until smooth and all of the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper. Shake a few red pepper flakes into sauce for added zing!

If you go to her blog it shows really good pictures of step by step process. You will notice some differences between her steps and mine just find whatever works for you!!

A couple days later I went to pretzelmaker and got some pretzel bites! And to be honest I really enjoyed these ones wayyy better! I do plan to find a pretzel bite recipe making my own dough but this is such a nice easy fast way to make a snack!Sorry for the lame picture lol. We made these at night and the lighting in my house is horrible. So go check out the pics on the other blog! They are great~ (Going clockwise from the left are Cinnamon sugar, parm and garlic and butter and salt)
This was such a fun girls activity!


Enjoy!!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

I have always loved cooking and baking.

I've always put the two together and said I loved them both. Probably equally.

But not anymore. I think I have finally decided that my favorite of the two is baking. It is so, so much fun!

As I told a friend recently, there are a lot of variables when it comes to baking. There are all kinds of things you can do differently that will change the outcome of what happens when you bake. There are also things beyond your control, like the way your oven heats, that also affect your baked goods. The best thing to do with those things beyond your control is to experiment and learn what you can do to still get what you want with what you've got. For example, in one of the apartments we have lived in, our oven heated too warm. We experimented and finally learned that the best way to get things to turn out the way we wanted was to turn down the temperature 25 degrees before baking. No more burning or over cooking. Perfect.

As far as variables that you can affect, there are all kinds of secrets out there about what to do/not to do for your baking to be a success. I won't pretend to be an expert on any baking secret, but I have found a few things that really help with baking.

Number one: people like shortcuts. They like cutting corners, taking the easy route, simplifying things. And, hey, I'm all about simplicity! Life is way too complicated as it is, no use making anything more complicated than it has to be. However, when it comes to baking, cutting corners is a bad idea. If a recipe says to add and beat eggs one an at a time, do it one at a time. I know, it takes a whole two minutes longer. Must save those minutes, right? Wrong! In baking, it really does make a difference. Pinky swear. Now, let me just say that I am almost the complete opposite when it comes to cooking. Experiment, change things up, do things differently, whatever! But when it comes to baking, just follow the recipe instructions.

Number two: margarine cannot always be used as a substitute for butter. I am a total advocate of saving money and I totally get that margarine is so much more affordable than butter. And I'll be totally honest and admit that I use margarine in place of butter almost any time I make cookies. But I also almost always use real butter in cupcakes and frosting recipes. It truly does make a huge difference.

Number three: mixing sugars and fats {i.e. - sugar and butter or sugar and oil} needs to be done thoroughly. While you're beating the two together, if you mix it long enough {sometimes it only needs a minute or less, but longer than just enough to mix them basically together}, you'll notice that the color starts to change. That's a good thing and it's what you want. I don't know the science behind it, but it creates wonderful things in your oven. Not all recipes need this much mixing, but every time I've done it this way, I end up with a better product.

That's enough "secrets" for today. Let's get on to these cupcakes, shall we? These cupcakes are so good. Seriously, I had about five different people ask me for the recipe within a couple days. I made two batches of these cupcakes within four days. They are just that good.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes, page 53

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 medium sized tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped small


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Insert liners into a cupcake pan.
In a large bowl (I use my stand mixer) beat together the brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed. I usually mix it for at least a minute, or longer if it needs to be mixed more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. I always sift in my first cup of flour and then add the baking powder and salt to the second cup to sift with the flour.
Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. I add about a 1/4 or 1/3 of the dry mixture at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat until well blended (don't forget to scrape your bowl!). Stir in the apples.
Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan {I've tried cooling my cupcakes in an airtight container before to preserve the moistness, but I generally find that cooling them in the pan works just as well}.




To assemble Caramel Apple Cupcakes:
Once all your cupcakes have cooled, poke three holes in the tops of each cupcake using the handle of a serving spoon {it's best if your handle is nice and round so you get good holes}. Make up a double batch of Caramel Sauce {or do like I did and make one batch for pouring over the cupcakes and then another for drizzling - whatever your preference}. Pour the caramel sauce over each cupcake, being sure to fill up the holes really well. Once you've filled up each cupcake, go back and pour caramel sauce over them again. Did I mention that this isn't a cupcake for sissies? 'Cuz it really ain't. Yes, pouring caramel sauce over cupcakes twice might seem awful indulgent. But it is oh, so good! And somewhat necessary, that first round gets soaked up pretty quick. The second round gives it a nice soaking and really gives the cupcake that caramel flavor.
Now make up some Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting. Pipe it onto your cupcakes. Don't be stingy, now. Pipe it on nice and high {my husband keeps telling me that cupcakes don't need that much frosting. But come on! They look so awesome!}. If you'd like a little tutorial about piping frosting, check out Your Homebased Mom. She has a nice video tutorial with some good tips about cupcakes. Then spoon the remaining Caramel Sauce over the top of the cupcakes {I prefer to put the sauce into a squeeze bottle and drizzle it over with the small nozzle - this really gives me control of how my cupcakes look}. And lookie there - you've just made yourself a gourmet cupcake! Enjoy!

Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the next recipe that came from Crazy About Cupcakes. The ginger in this frosting gives it a subtle, enticing flavor that really pulls you in. It is delicate and sweet and the perfect combo with Caramel Sauce and the cupcakes recipe above!

Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes, page 86

1 8oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground ginger


Directions:
In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, usually about 1 minute.
Slowly sift in the confectioners sugar and continue beating. Mix until all lumps are gone and it starts to be slightly stiff* {please see note below}. Add the vanilla and ginger and mix until fully integrated.


*Note: this will not be buttercream stiff. It will be slightly stiff in that it will begin to hold it's shape, but thanks to the cream cheese, if it gets very warm it will be melty. This frosting doesn't need any more sugar than I listed above. If you don't really care about piping your frosting {but I'm telling you, it's so much faster and more fun than spreading with a knife}, you can even use about 1/2 cup less. You only need all the sugar if you want it to hold it's shape enough to pipe. 

Caramel Sauce

This recipe comes from a book called "Crazy About Cupcakes" by Krystina Castella. I really love this book. My wonderful cousin {hi, Tierra!} gave it to me several months ago when she read my bucket list and saw that I had a desire to learn how to make gourmet cupcakes. Anyway, this caramel sauce goes with one of the cupcake recipes I made recently. It is truly delicious sauce and I would totally just eat it with a spoon!

Caramel Topping
Recipe adapted slightly from Crazy About Cupcakes, page 95

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick)  butter {you can use unsalted but I like the taste of salted better
1/4 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla extract



Directions:
In a saucepan over medium heat bring the brown sugar, butter, and cream to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer (just above low on my gas stove) and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Stir in the vanilla.

Tuesday with Tierra! (Saltine Cracker Snack)

Can you believe it is already Tuesday again?! How time flies! Well this particular post has been a snack that I have loved for years. When I lived in Rigby a very close family to me made this snack all the time. It is the perfect combination of salt but yet sweet.
Now i dont quite know the exact name of this snack so I just call it the Saltine Cracker Snack. Now dont hate this snack right off the bat cause it may seem weird and you might be thinking how could I possibly like that... Give it a chance! Trust me you will not be let down!

Saltine Cracker Snack
By: Denise Bowcutt

You will need:
1-2 pkgs of saltine crackers
1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1 Bag Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease cookie sheet and lay out saltine crackers
In a medium sauce pan boil together brown sugar and butter together for 3 minutes.
Pour over the saltine crackers so that all the crackers are covered equally.
Bake for 5 minutes or until bubbling.
Melt chocolate chips in a small saucepan and then pour over the caramelized crackers. Spread evenly.
Cool until the chocolate has become firm. (You may put this in the freezer for 5-10 minutes if you just cannot wait any longer for this yummy goodness!)

Enjoy!!

Cheesecake Bars

I love a good cheesecake. But let's face it, cheesecake is a time consuming, difficult thing to just whip up whenever I feel like it. But I do still love it. And so when I saw this recipe for cheesecake bars, I was ecstatic.
Getting the cheesecake flavor in a more personal serving size?
Easier to make?
Still just as tasty?
Yes, please! 
When I made these, I ate them every night. And so did my hubby. And we took some to some folks. And we still had some leftover. And I couldn't feel guilty because it needed to be eaten, right? Of course, right. :)
And you know what else? These bars are fantastic with strawberry sauce. Just sayin'.

Cheesecake Bars
Recipe from The Sister's Cafe

Ingredients:

Base:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Filling:

1/4 cup sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (Low-fat cream cheese is fine in my opinion. But if you don’t usually like it, stick with the regular)

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 egg

 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Combine flour and walnuts or pecans with creamed mixture. Reserve 1 cup for topping. Press remainder into bottom of ungreased 8″ or 9″ square pan. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a small bowl, blend sugar and cream cheese until smooth (if using fat-free cream cheese, mixture will be kind of lumpy, but it will cook up just fine). Add milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg. Beat well. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 23-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 12 small bars.

Swedish Tosca Cake

I have mentioned before that my grandmother {or Farmor, as I know her, which means father's mother in Swedish} is from Sweden. However, I don't think I've mentioned that my Farmor loves to cook. The joke in the family is that she reads cookbooks for entertainment. And maybe it's not so much of a joke because she actually does. :) Anyway, she is good cook and I love trying the things she makes for us. She especially loves to make authentic Swedish foods for us and this is one of her favorite things to make.

This cake is delicious. It is the perfect combination of flavors between the glaze and the cake. The cake is dense and moist and the almond flavor is so subtle and perfect. The glaze is sugary and buttery and very sweet, making it the perfect addition to this wonderful cake. 

I don't think you can go wrong with this cake. It is wonderful for a party or a potluck. It is so perfect warm right out of the oven. But it is also yummy if it's been sitting for a couple of days. However, my favorite way to eat it if it has been sitting is to warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds to get the glaze nice and melty and the cake nice and warm. Mmm, mmm. I think I better go make this again. I may or may not eat the whole thing by myself. :D

Ooh, doesn't this just have you drooling?

Swedish Tosca Cake

Recipe from Helga Hardy

Cake:

5 eggs

1-1/2 cup sugar

½ cup butter, melted

2/3 cup milk

1-2/3 cup flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. almond extract

Cream eggs and sugar for 5 minutes at medium speed in a mixer or with a handheld mixer. In a separate bowl, mix the flour wiht the baking powder. Add butter, milk, and flour mixture to egg mixture. I found that when adding these ingredients, it is best to add each one individually and just quickly mix them together. If you mix the melted butter and the milk right at the same time, it will make your butter harden. So add the butter, stir it into the eggs and then add the milk and flour mixture. One all added, blend for 2 minutes. Put into 9x9 or 11x7 greased and floured pan {Because the only sized pan I had was an 8x8 that is what I used. I think it made the cake particularly thick and I do think it would be better with the right size pan. However, if you are like me and only have the smaller pan, it does work to use it.}. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. 

This photo may not be very good but it is a pretty good shot of the delicious glaze on the top oozing down the cake. This is what happens when you eat it warm. Delicious!

 Glaze:

½ cup butter

1-1/2 Tbsp. milk

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp. flour

2-1/2 oz chopped almonds

½ tsp. almond extract

Melt butter in saucepan; add milk, sugar, flour and almonds. Boil for 2 minutes - begin timing about as soon as you see bubbles. Since I have a gas burner mine will start a rolling boil pretty quickly once it starts to bubble. If you let it boil too long, it may make it stiff and could burn. I would just start timing it when it begins boiling; don't wait for a rolling boil. Spread over cake; put under the broiler in the oven until is has a light brown color.

Bon appetit!

Pecan Tartlets - Variation

It may seem silly to do a completely different post on a variation of a recipe that was posted yesterday. There are just so many photos that I wanted to do this differently. I'm not going to be including ingredients in this post so if you want to know how to make this tartlet variation, check the Pecan Tartlets post first.

I made 3 dozen pecan tartlets and decided that I didn't want to make any more. However, I had enough dough and filling to make at least six more tartlets so I had to come up with something to use up what was left. My dear hubby helped me. This variation is what we came up with. We can't think of any good names for it though. Suggestions?

I actually really enjoyed this little variation. It tasted so yummy and had a less sweet flavor than the tartlets themselves. It also looked so pretty!

Directions:

Roll out pastry dough in a circle to be between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Place on a greased cookie sheet and roll the edges up to create a barrier. Be sure your barrier is between 1/4 and 1/2 inch high and that it is rolled tightly so it won't come undone.

Sprinkle chopped pecans on the crust. I also used up a few walnuts I had leftover from making Lemon Tea Cakes.

Pour some corn syrup mixture over the nuts.

This is why that barrier is so important. You don't want your syrup leaking out and making a mess all over your pan. Actually, forget the mess you'd get on your pan. Let's talk about how sad it would be to end up with a pastry with nuts and no syrup! That would be a sad day indeed. You really want it to stay on top of the pastry. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve cut into triangles.

Yummy!

Pecan Tartlets

You know me, I love pecan pie. It is my all-time favorite pie. You've heard that already. But because it's my favorite, when I saw the recipe for these Pecan Tartlets, I just knew I had to make them. And I'm so glad I did! They are so yummy and you pretty much can't go wrong with them! I will say that they are a bit time consuming, cutting out all the little circles of dough and forming all the tartlets. I don't think it would have taken me as long if I had more mini muffin tins, but since I only have one it took me a while.  However, they are so yummy and very worth it. I'm so glad I made them {and glad I gave most of them away or else I would have eaten them all!}.
Also, check back tomorrow for a little something different I did with my leftover tartlet makings.

Pecan Tartlets

Recipe from Cooking During Stolen Moments

Time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours

Makes: 3 1/2 dozen tartlets

You will need a mini muffin tin

For the pastry:

6 oz. cream cheese {I used 1/3 fat cream cheese and it worked really well}

1 c. butter

2 c. flour

1/8 t. salt

Place cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add flour and salt and beat until dough comes together and forms a ball.

For the pecan filling:

2 eggs

2/3 c. corn syrup

2/3 c. sugar

2 t. flour

2 T. butter, melted

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients, except pecans, and beat or whisk until combined. Reserve pecans for assembling the tartlets.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out dough about an 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. I prefer my dough to be a little thinner but if you like a thicker crust, a 1/4 inch would be perfect, too. If your dough is excessively sticky or too soft, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes before rolling out. This helps give it a firmness.
Another trickI have is to handle the pastry dough as little as possible. Mix it up, roll it out, cut the circles. Gently combine the scraps from that batch then roll it out again. In other words, you don't have to get it perfectly in a ball the second time before you roll it out again. The less you handle your pastry, the more flaky and soft it will be when it's baked. However, don't let my "handle with care" tip scare you away from making these yourself. This is probably the easiest pastry dough I've ever made in my life.
{Because I only have one mini muffin pan, my pastry dough was sitting on the counter between batches. If you find that it begins to get too warm in your kitchen, the dough will soften and get stickier, thereby making it more difficult to handle. This is when the fridge trick will be especially helpful. Put your dough in the fridge while one batch is baking. When that batch is finished baking, you can take them out of the oven, put the tartlets on cooling racks then pull out the dough from the fridge and make more circles. This also helps give your pan time to cool down so you can make more tartlets without having to use a hot pan.}

Using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter or glass, cut out circles. Press into mini muffin tins, going all the way up the sides of the cups. I used my knuckle to press the dough into the baking cups {I have long nails so using my fingers didn't work for me}. I also found that a bottle cap from my baby's bottles worked really well.

Using my knuckle to press the pastry into the baking cup.

Your pastry should look like this.

Sprinkle a generous teaspoon full of pecan pieces into the bottom of each tartlet. 

You can use a teaspoon to spoon the pecans into the pastry...

. . . or do like me and just dump some pecans in there until you have the amount you want.

Spoon about 1 1/2 t. of the syrup on top of the pecans, covering the pecans and filling at least 3/4 of each tartlet.

I found that a teaspoon was about enough.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden brown and filling is set. Note that the filling won't appear to be very set right when you pull it out. You can jiggle the pan a little to see if the filling moves a lot. It is seems like it mostly there, they are probably done. Your best judge at this point will be the pastry dough. It should be lightly golden.

Note: these are super sticky.

Delicious!

Variation: The pastry dough can also be filled with your favorite jam before baking. Bake as directed above and sprinkle with powdered sugar after the tartlets have cooled.