There’s a war going on in my house. And it’s all because Anthony’s taste buds are dying? dead? deranged? insane? disturbed?
I don’t know, all I know is they’re just not right! Pumpkin is one of the best flavors in the world when paired with sugar… and chocolate chips (unless it’s pie, because… EW!). But seriously, it causes me much anguish that he doesn’t love pumpkin the way I do.
Maybe I should have screened him better before entering into this lifelong commitment… I kid, of course 
Every time I make a pumpkin dish (besides pie because he already likes the pie) I force it down his throat and I just know that this will be it!! This will be the time that he says, “WOW! That is great! I love it, give me more.”
No such luck. He always politely eats (if you can call his unacceptance as ‘polite’… psh!) and then says something like, “I just don’t love that flavor combo.”
Who is this man?
Ugh!
Anyway, I found a recipe that I LOVE! (Original recipe found HERE) I modified it slightly because the original recipe made a gigantic batch and I like my pumpkin treats to be full of spicy flavor. And I lowered the temp of the oven as well.
These are TO DIE FOR, moist and delicious! I promise you’ll love them (unless you’re my husband, then you’re just a weirdy! )
Mix together the following:
- 1 c. softened butter
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
Add:
In a separate bowl, combine:
- 2 1/4 c. flour
- 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 – 3/4 tsp. cloves
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Add to butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix…
Add:
Once all is combined well, stir in:
Bake at 325* for about 20-25 minutes. This made 24 muffins.
{Don’t forget to enter to win a 1-year subscription to BYOU magazine. Click here}
This is how awesome I am at decorating and getting things up on my walls….
Christmas 2011 we got a Family Home Evening board from my aunt. We’ve always wanted one, finally get one, and it sat. It sat until just last month. For over a year it sat and collected dust.
Our intentions were good. We loved the gift and planned to hang it right away. The problem is, Anthony and I are 90%-ers. It’s a sad story, really. Every project we start gets done 90%. The last 10% of the project gets left out completely. And after all, actually owning the FHE board and planning to hang it up is 90% of the battle, right?
But we did it!! Be proud! Sure, it’s a year late BUT it’s hanging up and getting used. The kids love knowing who’s in charge of each part of FHE and I love not feeling like I have to plan the whole thing. Being a 90%-er is hard work!
Last week it was H’s turn to make the treat. That’s the job that all the kids want each week because I don’t let anyone help except that one person. Normally they have to take turns pouring ingredients in.
Taking turns… ICK! Nobody likes to do that. At least not around these here parts.
But I digress.
H chose a recipe that we had never tried before from one of my cookbooks. I’ve had peanut butter bars before but these were super yummy! Better than any I’ve ever tried before. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. It makes a HUGE batch… a large cookie sheet full. Anthony couldn’t keep his hands off of them!
BARS:
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1 1/2 c. butter
- 1 1/2 c. peanut butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 c. flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3 c. quick oats
Preheat oven to 325*. In large mixing bowl cream first 4 ingredients. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to wet mixture. Mix well and press into the bottom of a large cookie sheet. Bake at 325* for 10 minutes then raise temperature to 375* and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
FROSTING:
- 3 T. cocoa
- 1/2 c. butter
- 3 – 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 6 T. milk
Melt butter with coca in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and milk. Stir with whisk until smooth. Poor over COOLED bars and spread. Refrigerate to harden frosting.
Recipe Source: Worldwide Ward Cookbook: Mom’s Best Recipes
Oh Oreos…
What more is there to say? Who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashioned Oreo? Man! I could really go for some Oreos right now. Too bad we don’t have any 
I was supposed to bring a dessert for the ward campout a couple weeks ago and in light of the Pinterest Challenge I was doing (Yes, I did it. Maybe not every day but I did what I could and made a few yummy things) I looked up a recipe from my dessert board.
I’m pretty sure it was a smash hit considering that it was the first dessert gone and trust me, there were MANY!
And it was so easy, too!! Didn’t even have to turn on the oven! {Quality of pics is poor… I only had my cell phone handy}
1 pkg of regular Oreos, crushed (divided)
1/2 c. of butter
1 lg box of instant chocolate pudding
2-8 oz Whipped topping (Cool Whip)
8 oz. of cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
Crush a whole package of cookies in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Reserve 1/2 cup. Pour crushed cookies into a bowl, melt butter and pour over crumbs. Stir and press crumbs into 13×9 pan. Make chocolate pudding according to package directions. Refrigerate until set up. Blend softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and fold in 1-8 oz tub of whipped topping. Spread evenly over crushed Oreo layer in pan, then spread pudding evenly over cream cheese layer. Finally, top evenly with second tub of whipped topping. Sprinkle reserved crushed cookies over the top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Source: House 344
Last year I discovered Resurrection Rolls per the tip from a friend. We had made Easter Cookies (which are also a great way to teach about the resurrection of Jesus Christ) but had never heard of Resurrection Rolls. Guess what… they are even better than the cookies! And quicker, too.
Before making the rolls you can read John 19 in the Bible to remind everyone what Jesus went through as he was crucified. However, because most of my kids are still pretty young and unable to sit through a long chapter like that, I just tell them about it and what each ingredient represents.
You’ll need the following:
- Crescent rolls in a tube (such as Pillsbury) – tomb
- large marshmallows (1 per crescent roll) – Christ himself, purity
- cinnamon/sugar mixture – Spices used to prep his body for burial
- melted butter – embalming oils
Preheat the oven to 350*. If you have strange phobias like myself, have one of your children open the tube of crescent rolls. Yes, I’m scared of them….. balloons, too. Let’s not talk about it.
Moving on, take marshmallows one at a time and roll them in the melted butter. Once coated, roll them in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on large end of a crescent roll. Roll it up and pinch all sides closed tightly. There should be no holes or gaps if possible.
Place on cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 12-15 minutes. – The three days.
While it’s baking, read John 20:1-18
When they are cool enough to eat (but still warm because they’re best that way) open one up and show the kids that Jesus (the marshmallow) is no longer there! He is risen!
And now eat because they’re delicious!
And on a side note… these pics did not turn out quite the way I had them envisioned in my mind. I’m going to get this photography thing down if it KILLS me! I’ve decided that FOOD-tography is even tougher than people photography.
So there I was watching The Biggest Loser (so sad that Chism went home… Go Emily!); a show that should have motivated my palate to eat something healthy. You know, something like carrot sticks, egg whites, or maybe Cheerios (because apparently they are a sponsor).
This week each contestant had to go home for 18 days and lose 5% of their body weight in order to claim immunity when they came back to the ranch and weighed in. They all had their struggles but for the most part they did pretty well. And even I was doing well until Cassandra decided to make these scrumptious looking peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses in the middle. For the record, she only had one! Go Cassandra! Self control is tough to master.
Well, after that, I felt any ounce of self control I had left drain from me and all I could think about was a chocolate and peanut butter combo in any form. I just needed chocolate and I needed peanut butter. So the next day I was on a quest to scratch that chocolate/peanut butter itch that I had.
I decided to concoct my own version of Peanut Butter Oreos. They are WAY better than the ones you buy. My family loved them and Anthony has asked me to make them for the people at work on Monday. Hopefully they like them as much as we do!
I’ve made homemade Oreos before and they are great but I decided to try a different recipe for the cookie part and I think I liked it better!
Homemade Peanut Butter Oreos
1 chocolate cake mix (I like Devil’s Food, Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Fudge)
1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350*. Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon or stand mixer. This makes a thick dough. Roll into small 1 inch balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 or 9 minutes. Do not overbake! If you make bigger cookies, you may need up to 10 minutes.
Recipe Source: One Good Thing
Peanut Butter Filling:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
5 T. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/3 c. whole milk
Mix all ingredients except milk together well. Add milk and mix until creamy.
Recipe slightly adapted from: Ina Garten
Once cookies have cooled, spread frosting on the bottom of half the cookies and top with the other half of the cookies.
These are really good! Betcha can’t eat just one
Has pumpkin season come and gone already? Am I too late to post a pumpkin recipe? I sure hope not because you absolutely, positively want to try this recipe! I promise, it is insanely yummy.
I first tried this at my family Christmas party this past December. My cousin had brought it and I was in LOVE at first bite! Seriously, it is ridiculous. I’ve had pumpkin pies, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin bars, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, and even pumpkin cinnamon rolls… all of which I LOVE. Pumpkin is my friend. But never had I ever heard of a Pumpkin Pudding Cake. And guess what, I think it’s my favorite pumpkin treat of all time!
It took a couple months but I finally… finally!… got the recipe from her. I practically begged her for it. Thank you, Kara!
She got this recipe from a friend of hers and boy oh boy am I glad they are friends!
Now, let’s make some deliciousness!
Pumpkin Pudding Cake
Preheat oven to 350*
Crust:
- 1 yellow cake mix (reserve 1 cup)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Mix together the cake mix (minus 1 cup which you should set aside for the topping), egg and butter. Pat into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan.
Filling:
- 2 c. canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine all ingredients and mix with electric hand mixer. Pour over crust.
Topping:
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into smaller chunks
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 c. reserved cake mix
Blend all ingredients with pastry blender or fork. Blend until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over top of filling.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour… THEN, turn oven OFF after one hour and leave cake in for 10 minutes longer.
Serve warm or cold (I actually prefer cold) with whipped cream or ice cream.
If you are a pumpkin fan, you will love this!
Maybe you remember that the last time I made cake pops it worked like a charm… kind of.
They were a lot more work than I had anticipated and vowed that I would definitely try them again (in a year or two ).
But then my mom bought us a cake pop maker by BabyCakes.
She bought it at the beginning of December and it took until now for me to try it. Can you blame me? I was nervous! Plus, the whole idea of a cake pop holding together is the fact that it has frosting as the ‘glue’. That’s how it works. These were going to be pure cake… how in the world were they going to hold together and stay on the stick? There was just no way!
Needless to say, I was skeptical.
And so it sat and sat forever and ever (two months counts as forever and ever, right?) until I finally mustered up enough courage to give it a go.
I used a recipe from the owner’s manual for chocolate cake pops. The recipe called for a bit of freshly brewed coffee. We don’t drink coffee at our house so what do you do when you have no coffee to freshly brew? You brew up hot chocolate of course! Worked like a charm!
I followed the directions to a T regarding how early to plug in the unit, how much batter to put in each section and how long to let them cook.
And I learned a thing or two about how quickly I needed to fill each section… umm, yeah.
That’s what happens when you put a whole tablespoon in (as directed… it fills it to the top) and go too slowly filling the rest. I recommend filling it just slightly lower than the top and then move quickly! I also recommend spraying with non-stick spray between each batch.
But even that slight mishap didn’t ruin the cake pops. The thin layer between them chipped away easily. No worries.
To remove them from the unit, I used the handy dandy fork tool that came in the box. Honestly I thought that would be a silly way to do it because it would break them. Surprisingly, it worked wonders and I don’t know how I would have done it without that wonder of a fork-ish thing. What would you call that thing? I just don’t know.
Look how cute they are!
Perfect little balls of happiness. Yes, they made me happy.
Once they were cooled they went into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Then I left and my mom took over the process with her little helpers also known as my kids.
After pulling the pops out of the fridge, she stuck them on the sticks.
She melted the chocolate in the microwave, added a few teaspoons of shortening to thin it a bit (you can also use coconut oil) and stirred until it was a good consistency for coating and then rolled the pops in it to coat.
How cute are they? And they tasted good too. Like, REALLY good! It’s a good thing I have so many kids to help me out with eating naughty treats because I could have a major issue!
Do I recommend this product? Heck yes! Will I use it again… SOON? Heck yes! Do I think you need one? Heck yes!
**I was NOT compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. The BabyCakes ‘people’ don’t even know I exist and have no idea I am doing a blog post about their product. It’s just a product that I tried and really loved and thought you might love it as well. All opinions herein are my own and were not influenced in any way. The link to the cake pop maker on Amazon is an affiliate link. Should you choose to purchase from that link, I will earn an itty bitty percentage that would be much appreciated! Thanks so much.**
As I was perusing my overflowing bookshelf of cookbooks the other day, my Pampered Chef Celebrate! book jumped out at me and I decided to take peek inside. This particular recipe sounded so good that I just had to give it a try. It was Monday and that means we have to have dessert. Family Home Evening just isn’t complete without it.
I had all the ingredients on hand which made it even more appealing. We all loved it! We will definitely be making this one again.
Coconut Almond Brownies
- 1 pkg brownie mix (13×9 size) plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies (usually you just add an extra egg)
- 10 oz. sweetened flaked coconut (I had a 14 oz. pkg so I just used most, but not all of it)
- 2 c. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350*.
Prepare brownies according to mix directions for cake-like brownies. Spread into 13×9 pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until brownie is set but not completely done.
Sprinkle coconut on top of brownie and layer chocolate chips on top of that. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over coconut and chocolate. Sprinkle almonds on top to taste. You could omit the almonds but I recommend keeping them!
Bake 20-23 minutes or until coconut is browned around edges. Let cool before cutting.
We decided that we might try butterscotch chips next time or maybe caramel sauce instead of the sweetened condensed milk. These were delicious as is we just want to experiment!
This post is really more about the Caramel Frosting than anything else. The cookies weren’t bad either but the caramel…
WOW! The caramel… There are no words.
I’ve been wanting to try a caramel frosting recipe ever since I found one on Pinterest (it’s not the recipe I used, however). And the recipe for applesauce cookies is in a cookbook I have called Worldwide Ward Cookbook Mom’s Best Recipes. It’s a recipe that caught my eye long ago but I’ve just never made the time to make it. Yesterday I was in a cookie making mood and decided to throw caramel frosting on these applesauce cookies. Caramel apples… it’s perfect! My kids devoured them. I wasn’t sure Anthony would be fond of them. I was pleasantly surprised when he ate several and kept telling me how good they were.
Applesauce Cookies (slightly adapted)
- 1/2 c. butter (or shortening)
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 c. applesauce
- 1/2 T. nutmeg
- 1/2 T. cinnamon
- 1/2 T. cloves
- 1/2 T. salt
- 1/2 T. baking soda
- 2 1/4 – 2 1/2 c. flour
Preheat oven to 350*.
Cream butter and sugar together on medium speed in stand mixer. Add egg and incorporate. Now add applesauce and mix on low speed until fully incorporated.
Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add a little at a time to wet mixture, mixing on low speed between each addition until all ingredients are combined.
Drop onto lightly greased baking sheet by small, rounded spoonfuls and bake for 9-11 minutes. (**This is a pretty wet, sticky dough. Don’t make the spoonfuls too large or they will spread and run into each other.**)
These cookies are VERY soft! Be gentle when removing them from your baking sheet.
And now for the best part…
Caramel Frosting
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) **NOT margarine**
- 1 c. brown sugar
- 1/4 c. plus 1 T. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add brown sugar, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil, turn heat down slightly and let simmer for one full minute. The sauce should be dark brown and thick.
Remove from heat and add milk. Whisk in carefully. Add vanilla, whisk.
Add one cup at a time of powdered sugar and stir between each addition. Once you reach 2 cups, start adding in 1/2 cup increments until you reach desired spreading consistency. Mine was fine at 2 1/2 cups. Remember, as it cools it will thicken and get stiffer so let it be a little runnier than you plan the final product to be. If it becomes too thick, you can stir in one T. of milk at a time until it returns to the consistency you like.
Spread on cookies, cupcakes, cakes, etc. It’s absolutely delicious!!
I am so excited to share this recipe! It’s slightly adapted from this recipe that I just discovered the other day. I had to tweak it a bit because apparently the store that I shop at isn’t cool enough to carry Peppermint pudding mix. But it really doesn’t matter because my version turned out delicious!! Plus I tweaked a couple other things.
Peppermint Pudding Cookies
2-1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. butter (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant White Chocolate Pudding Mix (or Vanilla)
3/4 c. yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. Andes ‘peppermint crunch’ baking chips (white chocolate chips will do)
1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy canes (or just buy them already crushed)
Preheat oven to 350*.
Cream butter and sugars together in the bowl of your mixer (or a large mixing bowl). Add pudding mix and cake mix. Blend well. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the wet mixture a little at a time until it’s fully incorporated. Stir in baking chips and crushed candy canes. Roll into 1” balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
**Below is a picture of the baking chips and crushed candy canes in case you want to look for them in your grocery store.
I hope you love them! My family sure did.
|
My Goal: To become SuperMom, SuperWife, and official Domestic Diva! Am I there yet?
Welcome to my little corner of the web. My name is Brooke and this is my zoo... er, family. Anthony is my handsome husband. We have been blessed with 6 beautiful children. 3 girls, 3 boys... in that order. They are currently ages 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 4 months.
I blog about whatever I want. Sometimes it's a recipe, a random thought, real life, homeschool (yep, we're crazy like that), and my faith.
Hope you'll check back often!
|
