February Birthday Cake of the Month

For my birthday my sweet mother-in-law gave me a new subscription for The Food Network magazine. I had been without my beloved magazine for at least a year. Darn budget. But alas we have reacquainted. I love that mag. Because getting back to life after Christmas took me some time, I finally was able to sit down with my January mag.

Notice in the upper right hand corner. Yep, that's a cake. One of the reasons Erica and I have posted less frequently is the fact that we have both been dieting for the past year. Dieting and baking do NOT go hand in hand unfortunately.

 

Well, dieting does not take my love of baking away. I was excited to see this article and found myself at least a monthly post for you. Any excuse for me to bake a cake, right? No one in my house complained. I missed January so I'll get that one next year. But without further ado I introduce February's Birthday Cake of the Month!

 

Chocolate Blackout Cake

This cake is a chocolate lovers dream! It i a chocolate cake with a chocolate filling, frosted with a whipped ganache, then topped with ganache. Holy yum. I was content with one piece but I may have "tasted" the ganache a few times. Ganache is awesome. Chocolate+Cream= Awesome. 

A view of the inside. 

Pre-frosted layers.

 

Lucky for you, you can find this recipe on The Food Networks website. Now go make one but make sure to have some recipients to give some away to!

 

Happy Monday!

 

Love, Monica

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Monica posted these awhile back.  I whipped them up for a party last weekend and they were absoltuely perfect.  Quite the hit!  Delish!

Well I found it. I found my perfect go to pumpkin cupcake. I'm excited because so far I've had only semi good luck when making a pumpkin cupcake. Last year I did the Martha Stewart Pumpkin cupcake and although it tasted good it had more the consistency of a muffin. Sorry Martha. This cupcake is light and fluffy and delicious. The frosting on the other hand is all Martha. This is my favorite cream cheese frosting. It is simple, basic, and perfect. It tops this cupcake perfectly.

I wanted to take pictures of my process but I was in a hurry. So you get the finished product and the recipe so you can tries these babies out at home.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cupcakes
4 eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 cup Oil
2 cups sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch
4 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

Blend the eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl; set aside. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and beat until well blended. Scoop into lined muffin tins. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 30 minutes or until center springs back when touched.

My oven cooks hot so these only took 20 minutes and they were perfect. Make sure you check on them earlier than 30 minutes. If you touch the top and it bounces back, they are done.

Martha Stewart Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. Butter (2 sticks) room temp.
12 oz. Cream Cheese room temp.
1 lb. (4 cups) powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together until they are light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and mix. Now get a spoon and taste. Heaven. :)

Source: Allrecipes.com, MarthaStewart.com

By the way...the cupcake topper was made using Photoshop Elements and Products from JessicaSprague.com. One more thing you can do with your digital stash. :)

Monica :)

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

I made these a couple of years ago for a Monday Match up post. Remember those Erica? Oh good times. Anyway, I figured they needed a post of their very own. They are just too dang good.

I learned this technique from my good friend Michelle. We used to make hundreds of them for a fund raiser for our Special Education class. They were a hit. I love the tart and sweet together. Yum! They are a perfect Fall treat and great for a party or for a family get together. My kids had a ball helping out and they taste so yummy. Give them a try!

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

5 Granny Smith Apples (the tartness of these balances perfectly with the sweet coating)

1 pkg. caramels

White Chocolate or White Almond Bark or White Candy Melts (any will work)

Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture

5 Popsicle Sticks

If you want to make a ton of these you can usually find a huge brick of caramel at food supply stores. Those in Utah can find them at Orson Gygi or Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan. Kraft also makes Caramel Bits in a bag by the chocolate chips. These are nice because there is no unwrapping of caramels. I bought a bag of wrapped caramel because they were cheaper and they had the sticks with them. Any of these work.

As far as the white coating, I have used the white candy melts with great success. They were thin enough to give the apple a nice coating. With these I had some white almond bark leftover so I used that. It was a little thick and even when I thinned it, it still gave the apple a pretty thick coating. No problem for me for a family treat, but I would want it a touch thinner if I was presenting them somewhere. I haven't tried the plain white chocolate. I'm sure it would work just fine too.

So, wash the apples really well and dry completely. It is best if your apples are at room temp. I took mine out of the fridge ready to get started and had to wait a few hours because they were "sweating". If you dip them while they are wet your caramel will just fall right off. Not good. Take the stems out and insert the sticks. Next, melt the caramel. I did mine in the microwave but you can do it on the stove top too. Dip your apples and coat thoroughly. Hold the apple over the bowl and let it drip. Place on a sprayed piece of parchment. This works the best, I promise. Do all your apples, reheating the caramel if needed. Let sit until completely set. For a nicer looking apple, use kitched shears to trim off any excess caramel on the bottom.

Next melt your white candy melts, also done in the microwave. Dip each apple the same as the caramel and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Let sit till set. We like to cut these in pieces. Enjoy!

Love,

Monica 

 

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Do you know how long I've been waiting for Fall, and all the wonderful things that come along with it?  FOREVER!  I love Fall.  The smells, flavors, leaves changing, cooler air, warm clothes...everything about it! 

I thought I'd ring in the new season with a pumpkin cake.  I have a recipe for a giant sheet cake too, but knew if I had that sitting around my house all week, I would consume the entire thing.  This one is perfect. You bake it in a small 8x8 pan, and it's usually gone the night you serve it.  YAY!  It's flavors go together so perfectly.  The cake is so soft and moist.  Almost wish I had a piece to eat right now.  *sigh*  O'well. 

Amazing...and oh, so beautiful!

 

 

Pumpkin Cake

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree

In your mixing bowl combine oil, sugar, and eggs.  Whisk together until all combined.  Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir around until there are no more lumps.  Add in pumpkin and stir until well combined.  Pour into greased 8x8 baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let it cool completely before icing it.


Cream Cheese Frosting
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. milk

Beat your cream cheese, and butter together until light and fluffy.  Add your vanilla and sugar, and mix until well combined.  Add your milk.  If it's too thick add a tiny bit more.  Ice your cake, and ENJOY! 

Source-Kitchen Simplicity

Have you entered our giveaway yet?!  If not click HERE and go enter ASAP!  You have until Thursday night to do so. 

I love this!  Ha ha!  I don't even have 12 entered.  So go do it!

 

Have a happy Tuesday!

Love, Erica*

 

 



Chocolate Heath Cake

My sister in law used to make this cake quite often when I joined the family. She is such a great cook and I know she has influenced me in many ways to be the cook and baker I am today. I was looking for an oldie but goodie to make for my son's 9th birthday (9!!!) and wanted a special treat.

This cake is an easy doctored cake mix and always produces a moist cake with the perfect touch of chocolate. The whipped cream frosting and crushed Heath Bars are the star of the show. It was the perfect end to a great celebration. Thanks for the recipe Jame!

Chocolate Heath Cake

Yellow cake mix (with no added pudding, you'll add this next)

6 oz. box of instant chocolate pudding

Mix cake according to directions with the addition of an extra 1/2 cup of water. (The batter will be thick.) Bake according to directions in a greased 9x13 pan.

Frosting:

Mix 1/4 cup softened butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of Cool Whip until smooth. Stir in the remaining 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip. Spread on the cake. Crush 3-4 Heath Bars and sprinkle on top.

This cake is perfect for a potluck or get together. Quick, easy, and delicious!!

Have a great Tuesday!

Love,

Monica

Lazy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Anything that is easy to throw together with awesome results at the end is great in my book.  I made these for a Sunday dessert and we all loved them.  I think it would be easy to throw in some extra things like nuts, or marshmallows.  Yum!  Mix it up a little bit.

Lazy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
1 box of yellow cake mix
2 eggs beaten
5 Tbsp. melted butter
2 c. chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix everything up and place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and enjoy with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream! 

Source-Lazy Mom

Hope you are all having a great Tuesday.  Let us all remember 9-11-01. I bet you can remember where you were when you heard the news.  I know I do. 

Love, Erica*

P.S.  I feel a giveaway coming on.  You all deserve it for still reading our blog after our summer off.  Every comment left this week will be entered in the giveaway for next week.  Yay!  Happy day!

Guest Post-Apple Dew Dumplings

My good friend, Candis, was so sweet to guest post for us today.  I'm really excited to try this recipe.  It looks absolutely delicious!  Candis is awesome at everything she does.  A very talented woman!  So happy to have her as my friend.  :o)

Apple Dew Dumplings

2 Granny Smith Apples

2 Cans Refrigerator Crescent Rolls

2 Cubes Butter

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

12 oz. Mountain Dew

Cinnamon

 

Core, peel and slice the apples into 8 pieces. Roll each apple wedge into a crescent roll, from the long end of the triangle to the point, and place them in a 9x13 pan.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the sugar, stirring until it's almost dissolved. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla. Pour this yummy mixture over the rolls (they'll look like they're swimming in it). Then pour the Mountain Dew around the outside of the pan. Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with cinnamon.

 

Bake at 350* for 40 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with the sauce in the pan.

Reeses Rice Krispie Treats

For.REALDO!  Ahhh!  I can't even begin to tell you how amazing these are.  When I started making them, I told myself, "I will NOT pig out on these!  I will only have a tiny piece just to taste it and give the rest away!"  Well...I unwrapped all the peanut butter cups just fine.  You have to know that Reeses are my weakness!  Srsly!  I got them in the pan just fine.  Then when they were done, I had a teeny TINY square.  Oh heck...it was over.  I had another square a little bigger.  Then another a little bigger...and I think my Justy could see this battle I was having with myself, because she piped up and said, "MOM!  Put them away!  No more!"  Lol!  What a great kid!  I put them in the fridge to get the drizzled top to harden, and thought I'd give the rest to Justy's soccer team.  So I cut them up and wrapped them and sent them on their way.  She came home with 3.  After dinner I could hear screaming coming from the cupboard.  I opened it up and they were staring right at me!  They were yelling, "EAT ME! EAT MY YUMMY GOODNESS!"  Did I have the willpower to just walk away, and not look back?!  Heck no!  I had me another one, and it was A.MA.ZING!!!!  I'm am making Justy take the rest to school with her tomorrow...maybe.  :o)

Teehee!

You really need to make these.  I think I found my new favorite treat.  I'm gonna be making more of these this summer.

Reeses Rice Krispie Treats
6 c. Cocoa Rice Krispie's
16-18 regular sized Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, roughly chopped
5 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Karo Syrup
10 oz bag + 2 c. of mini marshmallows
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

In a big bowl add your cereal and roughly chopped peanut butter cups.  Don't chop them up to fine, or you won't get a big chunk of yummy goodness.

Grease a 9x13 dish.

In a big pan melt your butter.  Then add your karo syrup and marshmallows.  Stir on medium low heat until everything is smooth.  Remove from heat and add your cereal to the pan.  Stir until well combined, but don't over stir, because you don't want to break apart those peanut butter cup pieces.  Press it into your pan with a buttered hand or wax paper.  Let cool.

In a small microwave bowl add your peanut butter and microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir.  If it needs to be a little more runny then microwave for 15 seconds longer.  Pour into a ziploc bag and snip off the end and drizzle your treats.  Do the same with your chocolate chips, microwaving in 30 second increments until good and melty.  Don't over cook it!!  Drizzle.

I put mine in the fridge to get the peanut butter and chocolate hard.  Cut up and enjoy...seriously...ENJOY!

Have a great Thursday!
Love, Erica*

Source-Food Snots

Mint Brownies

I love mint brownies. I guess I'm just a mint + chocolate fan. I've been meaning to make some mint brownies for a long time and finally had the occasion to do so. These turned out moist and yum and are really quite easy. Brownie anyone? :)

Brownies
1 cup butter

1/2 cup cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Melt butter and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

Mint Frosting
5 Tbsp. butter
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

Chocolate Frosting
5 Tbsp. butter
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 cup cocoa powder

I used the same recipe as the mint frosting minus the peppermint extract and food coloring. Of course add the cocoa to make it chocolate. Use the same directions above adding the cocoa with the powdered sugar.

Spread mint frosting over brownies. You can put the pan in the freezer to let the frosting set up or just let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes or so. It will crust over a bit. Carefully spread the chocolate frosting on top of the mint. Enjoy!
 
Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Carrot Cupcakes

I loved these!  I made them for a meeting at my house last night, and they were a hit.  I had none left.  I didn't even get to have a second one.  That's a good thing though, right?!  Jason didn't even get to try one, but like i've said before he's not big on sweets, so he didn't feel bad at all.  He should have felt bad because he missed out...BIG TIME!

I don't know what it is, about carrot cake, but it always takes me back to being a kid.  The first time I tried it, thinking it was gonna be disgusting because it had carrots in it.  But, of course being oh so wrong.  And nothing goes better with it than cream cheese frosting.  So glad there are none left, or I would be having one or two for breakfast.  :o) 

Carrot Cupcakes

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 lb. (6-7 medium) carrots, peeled
1½ cups sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 muffin pans with liners, set aside. 

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt.  Set aside. 

With a food processor, or just with a grater, shred all your carrots, and just place them on top of the flour mixture. 

Rinse your food processor out and add sugars, and eggs and mix with a blade until well combined.  Slowly pour in your oil and mix until light in color.  If you don't have a food processor, i'm sure you could just do this with a beater, or your kitchenaid mixer with the whisk attachment.  Just make sure everything is mixed up good.  Pour your mix into your mixing bowl and pour in your carrots, and flour mixture.  Mix until no flour streaks are seen.

Scoop out evenly into your liners about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes in the pans and then remove.  Cool completely before icing. 

For the icing I used Monica's favorite, which is now my favorite, Cream Cheese frosting.  It is seriously BODACIOUS!  ;o)  Go HERE for the recipe. 

Source-Sweet Peas Kitchen

*sigh*  So beautiful!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I'm starting mine off by going to see The Hunger Games tonight with a couple of friends.  I'm so excited!  Can't wait to stuff my face full of theater popcorn.  YUM!

Tah Tah! 

Love, Erica*

Hello My Pretties...

Monica posted these babies way back when.  And can I just say these have to be my absolute favorite cupcake!  They are simple to throw together and oh so yummy!!  I have some bananas getting a little to ripe and I might just have to whip up a batch.  I think if I eat just one it might help me with my cravings.  Or maybe twp...or three?!  Ha ha!  Happy Thursday!


If you want an absolutely delicious easy cupcake recipe, I have found the one for you. Oh, these are so beautiful and yummy. These are not in the Martha Stewart Cupcakes Cookbook. I found these on marthastewart.com. There are a bunch of fun cupcake recipes on there. I'm excited to try more. These are called Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting. The frosting and the cake together is delectable. They are moist and fluffy and really just fabulous. These are definitely a keeper as far as recipes go. AND when I say easy, I'm not kidding, very doable. They only took me an hour and a half start to finish.

I hope you like my retro 70's counter tops. We are renting a cute little home built way before my time. I do love the nostalgic feeling of the old counter tops, and cabinets.

I actually didn't try the cake this time b/f. The reviews on the website say the cake is wonderful even without the frosting. I guess for the non-frosting lovers.

I on the other hand loved this frosting. It was light and I loved the touch of honey and cinnamon. Very different (and gourmet) from the average ole' buttercream that I'm used to.

Pretty.

And oh so tasty. There really is nothing like a cupcake. :)

Sugar Cookie Bars and a Giveaway!

I think I found a new favorite treat.  Seriously.  These were awesome.  I didn't eat as much as I wanted, because of this silly diet I'm on, but I got enough of a taste that every time I walked by them, my mind was screaming, "EAT THEM!  GET YOU A BAR AND ENJOY THAT SUCKER!  YOU DESERVE IT!  YOU CAN RUN IT OFF LATER!"  I ended up taking half over to my in laws to share with the grandkids.  I needed them out of my site! 

These would make a cute Valentine's neighbor gift but with cute Valentine's Day sprinkles.  I think I will be doing that for mine. 

Sugar Cookie Bars
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add your eggs one at a time mixing well after each one.  Add vanilla.  Add your dry ingredients and mix until well combined.  Press into a greased 13x18 in sheet pan.  A big cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Check them and DO NOT OVER BAKE THEM!  Let it cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk or until you get your desired thickness

Beat your butter and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and then powdered sugar.  Mix until well combined.  Add in milk 1 Tbsp at a time until your reach the thickness that you want.  Spread over your cooled sugar cookie bars and then sprinkle with your favorite sprinkles right after so they stick to the icing.  Cut and serve. 

Source-Crunchy Rock

We are so excited about how well our little blog has been doing the last couple months that we thought we would do a giveaway!  It's our way of saying thank you to all of our followers.  We appreciate you coming back to read our blog and leaving us comments here and there.  It really makes our day hearing from all of you!

So, as you all know, I love Ree Drummond!  She is coming out with another cookbook in March, so I thought since I'm ordering me one, I would order a cookbook for one of our followers too!  Yay!  I can't wait!

You can enter up to 3 times!  You can enter for each thing you do.

Leave a comment if you are a follower of our blog, and let us know how we are doing or what you'd like to see different on the blog. 

Leave another comment if you are 'liking' us on Facebook.

Leave another comment if you shared with your friends and family on facebook, or any other social network that we are doing a fun giveaway on our blog, and leave us with a link to see.

We will choose a winner on Friday, the 17th!  So you have until Thursday, the 16th to enter.  :o)

And there you have it!  GOOD LUCK!!  I can't wait to see who wins!  Have a happy Friday, and again thank you for coming back to read our blog.  We love and appreciate every single one of you! 

Chubby Hubby Bars

There's this thing called Pinterest.  It is the place to go when you want to dream about delicious foods, fill your brain with crafts to create, dream of what you want your home to look like, and laugh at some interesting things.  I found these bars on there and they have been in my brain ever since.  Monica was here visiting, and I thought this would be the best time to whip them up, since she was wanting to try them too.  Plus, we needed to take a thank you plate of goodies to a friend of ours. 

We whipped these up pretty easily.  I was a little worried when I pulled them out of the fridge.  The caramel hardened up and made them very hard to cut.  So, Monica suggested I leave them out to get to room temp.  I did, and they were 100 times better and easier to cut through.  I think next time we want to try to use the caramel you put on top of your icecream.  Much more of the good and melty texture that I was hoping
for.  :o)

Chubby Hubby Bars
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pretzels
1 (8oz) bag of Reese’s Mini cups, or 2 cups of coarsely chopped regular size Reeses.  (It took 1 bag)
1 (14 oz) bag of caramels, unwrapped
1 Tbsp water
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 13x9 dish.

Chop up your pretzels and Reeses. 
In your mixing bowl beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add your eggs, and vanilla and mix until just incorporated.  On low speed add your flour, baking soda, and salt. Mixing until just combined.  Pour in the pretzels and Reeses and stir until evenly combined.  Spoon into your pan and spread out evenly.  Baked for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool completely.

When cooled, melt your caramels in the microwave with the 1 Tbsp of water, stirring in 1 minute increments until completely melted.  Pour over cooled bars.  Refridgerate until caramel is set up a bit.

Melt chocolate chips in a double broiler or in the microwave and pour over caramel.  Refridgerate until set up or eat them now!  ;o)  Cut them into squares before serving and enjoy!

Source-Cookies and Cups

18 days left until Christmas!!  Are you ready?! 

Blogging will probably continue to be slow until this Holiday season is over.  We will post some of our favorite yummy Christmas treats and i'm working on a couple crockpot recipes for those busy nights.  Have a great day!

Repost-Thanksgiving Pie

 Mmmmm...Pie! Here is a post we did on a couple of our favorite family pie recipes.  These are a staple at any Thanksgiving dinner. What is your favorite kind of pie? 

First published on November 15, 2010
Pie is just something we grew up on. It wasn't necessarily a Thanksgiving treat. My Grandpa loved Lemon Meringue and a good Apple Pie and my dear Grandma was so good to whip one up every now and then. It wasn't uncommon to find an Apple Pie in the freezer ready when Grandpa needed it. She was such a good wife and a wonderful cook. More than once she would tell me the old saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach".

Grandma used very simple recipes. For her lemon pie she used the recipe on the Jello box, her pecan was the Karo Syrup recipe. I still love these recipes and prefer them over some fancy pies. For our match-up this week we wanted to share a pie.

Both my dad and my hubby love Pecan Pie. I wanted to try a new recipe although I should have just stuck with what I know. Honestly, mine was a trial for me and it ended up being just okay. So, I'm just going to link the recipe in case you feel like trying it too. But I am going to post my mother-in-laws recipe because it's delicious and my hubby loves it although I promise you can't go wrong with the good ole Karo Syrup recipe. :)

Pecan Pie
1 cup Karo Syrup (light or dark, your preference)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbls. flour
3 whole eggs
1 teas. vanilla
1/3 cup butter melted
1 heaping cup pecan halves or chopped pecans

Lightly beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake for 45 min. at  350. Turn down to 300 for 10 more minutes.

Enjoy!

--------------------
I chose to make a Banana Cream Pie.  I am not a huge fan of it, but my hubby loves it, so I had to make him happy.  If I would have made one of my favorites then I would have eaten the entire thing, and that's not a good thing.  I'm not a huge fan of most pies.  I don't know why?  Like Monica said, pie was a big thing with our family.  My Grandma was always serving it after our Sunday dinners.  I ate it cause it made her happy.  :o)  It was good, but nothing like her cheesecake. 

I have a Banana Cream Pie recipe I usually use and it's easy, but I wanted to try something a little more difficult.  I made it and the hubs liked it 100 times better than my normal one.  It really wasn't too hard, and the end result...there is no more pie. 

I'm not about pretty...I'm all about tasty!  ;o)

Here's the recipe~

Banana Cream Pie

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 bananas, sliced

For the crust-

1 1/2 c. crushed Nilla cookies

6 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix your butter and cookies together and spread out in a 9 inch pie plate.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.  Let it cool completely.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken and get bubbly.  Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from heat.

Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes, keep stirring!  Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.

Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture.  Refrigerate a couple hours or over night.  I topped mine with whipped cream, but do what you want or like.  :o)  ENJOY! 

 

Source-Allrecipes

Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

Pinterest!  The most amazing website out there!  Besides our blog, of course.  I have discovered so many yummy recipes and food blogs.  This is one of them.  It was awesome!  My hubs enjoyed it the most and has been taking it with him for breakfast until it was all gone.  1 sheet pan is way too big for my little family, so if you make this, make it for a big crowd. They'll be happy you did.

Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding
1/2 cup sour cream
15 ounce can pumpkin
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a big sheet pan with cooking spray. 

In your mixing bowl add cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, pudding, sour cream, and pumpkin.  Mix until well combined.  Pour into prepared pan and spread it out evenly.

Melt butter in microwave safe bowl.  Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.  Stir until combined.  Drizzle over cake batter evenly.  Then take a knife and run it through to swirl the cake. 

Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, or until cooked through.  In a medium bowl combine powdered sugar and heavy cream.  Start with a 1/4 c. and if the glaze needs to be thinner add more.  I think I could have got away with a double batch of the glaze.  Let it cool before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!

Source-Picky Palate  (This woman is AMAZING)

I have my daughter's birthday party to plan!  She will be 12!!!  She is inviting a few friends over for pizza and a movie this weekend.  I'm super excited for her.  Think i'll be making her favorite chocolate sheet cake.  Mmmm...that's all I need is more sweets.  O'well.  I think I've given up the diet until after New Years.  Yeah!

Have a fantabulous day!!

Mini Pumpkin Pies

I love Bakerella. If you've seen a cakepop than you have been influenced by Bakerella. She is kindof the leading gal in the CakePop arena. And if you've ever had a cake ball then you know that they are pretty much amazing.

I've been following Bakerella for a few years now and have loved all of her creations. Fall 2009 she did mini Pumpkin Pies and I loved them. I had completely forgotten about them until in comes Pinterest. Thank goodness for Pinterest. It reminds me of all the beautiful and delicious creations I yearn to make...someday. :) Well, lucky for these little guys, someday had come.

You can find her Pumpkin Pie Bites post here. I pretty much followed her directions to a T. Although, I used the Libby's Pumpkin Pie recipe which I think is perfect and my mother in laws crust recipe, which I think is perfect too. I happened to have the exact same cookie cutter she had so they were a cinch to make. You could easily use a round cookie cutter and add your own stem or not. They turned out adorable and were a hit. These are perfect for a Fall get together. Your friends will love them!

Yeah, I took that bite. Look at that flakey crust! Yum!

Delicious!

Have a Great Thursday!

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin

Since I was canning pickled beets all day yesterday, I didn't have much time to do anything else.  So today I decided to a post on all the pumpkin yumminess that Monica and I have made over the past year.  If you've tried any of them let us know what you thought.  My favorite has to be the pumpkin roll and the pancakes.  YUM! 

Pumpkin Roll

 Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cupcakes

 Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

 

So there you have it.  They are all awesome, so you wouldn't go wrong trying any of them.  Hope you are having a great week so far.  Now it is time for me to go clean the beet juice off my kitchen and get caught up on the rest of the To Do list.  :o)  

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Heaven in a cupcake liner.  I made these for my Daddy's birthday yesterday.  They are his favorite.  I was worried, because last time I made something similar it didn't turn out.  But these were absolutely WONDERFUL!!!  They were pretty simple to throw together.  I got most of them done during nap time which made it 100 times easier.  My Dad had 2, complimented me a few times, and took a bunch home, so they were definitely a hit!

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Cake mix-
1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk than you can make your own by using a little less than 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp of distilled white vinegar)
1 c. sour cream

 German Chocolate Frosting-
1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Chocolate Buttercream-
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. milk (If needed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.  I got 24 cupcakes. 

In a large bowl combine oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix gently until well combined. Stir in 1/3 of the cake mix until well combined.  Add buttermilk, stir til combined.  Add another 1/3 of the cake mix, stir til combined.  Add sour cream, and last of cake mix and stir until well combined.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 18-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

German Chocolate Frosting-In a medium saucepan on medium heat, constantly stir evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and egg yolks until it starts to boil and thicken.  About 15 minutes.  Stir in vanilla, coconut, and pecans.  Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

Buttercream-Beat cream cheese and butter for 4 minutes, scraping sides of bowl.  Add cocoa, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Beat for another 3 minutes, scraping bowl. If it's too thick add milk.  (I didn't have to add any milk to mine.)  If it's too thin add more powdered sugar.  Put icing into a pastry bag and pipe it onto cupcakes to create a barrier to keep the german chocolate frosting in the middle.  Scoop a small amount of cooled german chocolate mixture into the middle of the cupcake.

And there you have it!  It looks a little intimidating, but it was seriously pretty simple.  My pastry bag broke, so I had to use a ziploc bag to finish the job.  Worked out great!

Source-Your Cup of Cake

Have a great Wednesday!!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Mmmmm, you say lemon+butter+sugar and I am so there. This may sound a little nuts to most of you, but before I met my in-laws I didn't really care for chocolate. (Blame them and all their chocolate goodies for my giant hips!) Anyway...sorry, although I love chocolate now (dark please, not milk, blech), if you give me a choice between a chocolate dessert and a lemon dessert, I will go for the lemon 9 out of 10 times. Seriously.

So my very good friend Cheryl sent me an email saying I must try a cookie she had recently made and she mentioned lemon, and maybe the word amazing, and I was so intrigued. <--- (I have excellent run on sentences today!) The other day I had an event that needed sweets and I knew exactly what I needed to make. Thank goodness for events, because I get to sample then off they go to give someone else the extra calories.

These were really good. I love lemon and do think next time I will add even a little more zest and juice. Maybe even a brush of straight lemon juice to the top of the cookie? Hmmm, maybe. So, yes these are a keeper and if you like lemon you must try. :)

Ingredients:

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Source: What's Cookin?

Zucchini Brownies

Sorry for missing in action the past couple days.  It has been so chaotic around here.  Still is and will be for another couple weeks.  Ack!  Gotta love it though, right?  We got my baby girl signed up for middle school today.  *sigh*  Seriously...where the heck does time go?  Anyhoo...i'll try to do better at posting.  And hopefully Moni will be back at it soon too.  We have some fun new ideas for the blog!  :o)

Well I don't have zucchini coming out of my ears this year.  My garden is really struggling to make it!  Guess I will strive to do better next year.  My sweet Mother in law brought me some of hers, and I got straight to baking up some zucchini brownies.  These are so yummy!  They are more of a cakey texture though.  I love them!!  Especially with that rich chocolatey icing on top. 

Zucchini Brownies
1/2 c. vegetable oil 
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Icing
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 13x9 baking dish. 

In a large bowl mix together oil, sugar and vanilla until well combined.  Add your flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts and stir it up good.  Pour into baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or when you push on it gently and it springs back.  Our do the toothpick method.  It works great too.  :o)  Take out and let cool completely before icing.

To make icing melt your butter and 6 T. cocoa powder on med-low heat.  Set aside to cool.  In a medium bowl mix your powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until well combined and then add your cooled cocoa mixture and mix well.  Spread it evenly over brownies and ENJOY!  :o)  Delish!

Have a great rest of the week!  See you tomorrow...I hope.