Triple Chocomallow Brownies

Hey There,

I hope everyone had an amazing Fourth of July weekend. I had a fun filled girls weekend with a lot of food and chocolate!  I was asked to make something chocolate and so I decided on my famous brownies, which are a girls best friend.  

To be honest, I don't like to make these brownies anymore because I have made them at least 100 times. We all have those recipes that we are asked to make a lot and this one is mine.  I make it to show my love to my friends and family when they ask for it.  

This recipe is very simple and takes no time at all.  You will not only impress your guests, but also yourself! 

What You Need:

1 box Chocolate Chunk brownie mix

¼ Cup vegetable oil

¼ Cup water

1 Egg

1 to 1 ½  cup Marshmallow Fluff

1 ¾ Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ Cup premier white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Prepare brownies as instructed on the box. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When finished, let cool completely.

2. Using a table knife, spread marshmallow fluff over cooled brownies evenly.

3. Place semi-sweet chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds. Remove chips and stir. Place chocolate back in microwave for another 30 seconds, or until smooth. Once smooth, pour melted chocolate over the layer of marshmallow fluff. Spread evenly.

4. Melt white chocolate chips in microwave for approximately 30 seconds. Remove chips and stir. If not smooth, place chocolate back into microwave until fully melted. Using a spoon, lightly drizzle white chocolate into 10 to 15 horizontal rows. To create the marbleized effect, lightly drag the tip of a knife vertically across the white chocolate 10 to 15 times alternating directions.

5. Place pan into refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove pan and cut brownies into 16 pieces. Place the pan back into the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes or until ready to serve. Remove pan 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

Tip* Keep brownies refrigerated to keep the marshmallow fluff and chocolate from melting.

Chocolate Strawberry Whoopie Pies

Hey all!

Sorry I have been MIA lately.  I have had guests every other week and my life has been so crazy.  It is slowing down now and I am looking forward to catching everyone up on my cooking and life.  I just had my parents out to visit me and decided to make them a welcoming dessert for when they arrived from the airport.  I really think this is a nice touch for visitors because it lets them know you cared enough to welcome them after a long day of traveling. 

I decided to make Chocolate Strawberry Whoopie Pies.  Something about chocolate and berries together that I just can't get enough of!! This is extremely easy, but a little time consuming! Set aside two hours for these pies.

 

What You Need:

Chocolate cake mix

3 Eggs

1/2 Cup Oil

3/4 Cup Water

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

8 oz Cream Cheese

Cool Whip

Fresh Strawberries (Sliced)

How To Make It:

1. Heat Oven 350. 

 Beat together cake mix, eggs, oil and water until smooth.  Drop a tablespoon (or two depending on desired size) of batter on  a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes and let cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before removing.  

TIP: These will spread out a lot in the oven so be mindful when filling up the cookie sheet with batter

2. Beat Cream Cheese, powdered sugar together until well combined.  Fold in the entire container of Cool Whip.  

3. Once cookies completely cool, take two cookies and place the icing on bottom of both cookies. Place sliced strawberries on the iced cookie however you please then top with second iced cookie to make a sandwich. Keep in the refrigerator to keep fresh! 

* The icing is also like a glue to hold it all together.  I only used a very little amount of icing on the top cookie. 

*Remember to leave room around the edges so the icing won't drip.  

Pig Licking Cupcakes

Hello Bloggers!

It is that time of the year again...Lent!  I give up chocolate every year because I am addicted to it and find it very challenging and have a sense of accomplishment when Easter arrives.  

Since I can't bake with my first love, chocolate, I must result to the next best thing...Vanilla

These cupcakes are so delicious and light in your mouth.  They taste healthy because they are not over powering with sugar.  Even I, the sugar addicted girl, loves a little lightness every once in a while.  

The fantastic news about this recipe is that it is extremely cheap, easy, and fast! 

What You need:

1 Yellow Cake Mix 

(I prefer the Golden Butter)

11 oz Mandarin Oranges 

(In light syrup)

3 Eggs

1/2 Cup Oil

8 oz Cool Whip

3.5 oz Instant Vanilla Pudding

20 oz Crushed Pineapple 

(In 100% Pineapple Juice)

How To Make:

1. Combine the Yellow Cake Mix, Mandarin Oranges(with juice), Eggs,  and Oil in a bowl with a mixer on low.

2. Pour into cupcake prepared cupcake tins. (Use an ice-cream scoop for a perfect cupcake every time)

3. Bake 350 for 15-20 Minutes. Let cupcakes cool COMPLETELY

4. Stir together the crushed pineapple (with juice) and vanilla pudding.  

5. Gently Fold in the entire container of Cool Whip. Then ice the cupcakes as you please.  

(Tip) Because of the crushed pineapple in the icing it makes it hard to pipe it onto the cakes.  I like to make mine look very homemade by just using a knife and decorating it with a berry or a big chocolate shaving.  Get as creative as you please.

As my great grandma would say, this is considered a fruit in our diet because it has oranges and pineapple.  That's my kind of thinking!

*To make this into a two layer cake follow the same instructions and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

Grandma's Sugar Cream Cake

Hello All!

I have been very busy the past week due to my parents being in town visiting.  I am ready to update you on all my baking and shoestring entertaining! 

I keep seeing recipes for butter cake on every website around lately.  My grandma makes something just like it, but she calls it Sugar Cream Cake.  It is to die for and VERY INEXPENSIVE!

This cake is perfect for last minute baking or a sugar fix (WARNING:  very sweet)

What You Need: 

1 yellow box cake 

1 Stick melted butter

3 Eggs

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 pound powdered sugar

nutmeg 

How To Make:

1.Combine cake mix, melted butter, 1 beaten egg with a spoon and pour into a greased 

9 by 13 pan 

2. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 2 eggs with a mixer until smooth.  Poor over mixture in pan.  Sprinkle with nutmeg on the top

3. Bake dessert at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. 

This is an oldie but goodie! Absolutely curbs that sugar craving! I love sugar and still think it is very rich so be careful not to cut the pieces large! 

ENJOY! I know you will love it! 

Rudolf Cake Pops

Hey Bloggers!

I know the holidays are behind us but I wanted to share one more cute dessert idea that you may be able to keep in the back of your mind for next year!  

For my family Christmas we have a wide range of ages so I wanted to make something that everyone would like.  Much easier said than done with a huge family!  I decided to make my red velvet cake balls and turn them into reindeers. I love the red velvet because nothing says Christmas more than a deep red! 

Click here for the step by step instructions for Cake balls

What you need for Rudolf to come to life:

 1 Large bag of white pipe cleaners

Red candies: Red hots or red M&M's

White round decorating candies ( Anything small will work)

Clear cellophane paper

This project is so personalized you can use anything and make it look great!  It's about the love and effort behind the cake pop that matters the most!

How to make Rudolf:

1. After dipping the cake ball in melted candy coating and placing it on wax paper you will want to immediately go around it with a toothpick to cut off the extra candy coating drippings.  

2.Place a stick in the top of the cake ball.  Put the eyes on and the red candy for the nose.  Make sure you do this right away so the candy coating is still warm to hold the eyes and nose in place.  The candy coating dries almost immediately so you won't need to hold the nose for long to make sure it doesn't slop down.

3. Once all the reindeers are done cut the cellophane paper into squares.  Place the cake pop in the center of one square and pull the paper up around it and the pipecleaner will secure it at the top.

4. Take the pipe cleaner and cut them in half. On each end of the cut pipe cleaner twist on a scrap piece on each end to make the antlers.  You can make them as small of big as you want. 

Take the center of the pipe cleaner and wrap it around the front of the pop and wrap it around the back to secure to cellophane wrapping. The antlers will end of up on the opposite sides and feel free to make them stick up or out to the sides.

This is a fun project to do with family or just to take your mind of the crazy world especially during the holidays! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Crafty Candle Present

Every Christmas I try and make a hand made gift for certain people in my family.  I didn't have much time this year so I decided to buy an inexpensive candle and make custom labels.

I choose the candle flavors depending on my family members taste in scents and bought white label paper.  The paper I bought was 

Avery® White Full-Sheet Labels for Inkjet Printer. 

This is a project you can really make your own.  I made some frames that matched the pictures I had chosen and went from there. 

How To Make It:

1. Pick out your favorite pictures and put a creative boarder around the picture or a saying on the bottom like "Merry Christmas". You can do whatever you would like here and make it "yours"

2. Print out the picture and cut it out.  Make sure it is the correct size to fit the candle.  You don't want any bumps under the label. 

3. Once you have the Picture cut out and the back side peeled off time to lay the Picture on the candle.  Start from one corner and work your way diagonal.   This prevents and air bubbles from forming under the sticker.  If you do get an air bubble you can work it to the side and press it out.  

Wha la the easy peezy hand made gift is done.  this is great because when people open the gift they think it is a candle then they look closely and it has their picture on it and it means so much more!  

Caramel Turtle Cookies

Happy Holidays!

I have had another crazy yet exciting Christmas.  I have traveled countless hours and had many family adventures.  Overall I would say it was a great Holiday.  During the holidays baking is always a tradition so I made sure I got all my baking in while I was home.  I made many different cookies and tried a few new recipies.  I have seen the recipie for turtle cookies all over the internet so I new I had to give them a try.  They have chocolate, sugar, pecans, and carmel..how bad could they be??

This recipe is so easy and pretty much fool proof!  They are delicious and to Die for!  

What You Need:

Cookie:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

8 T. (1 stick) butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar

1 large egg, separated, plus 1 additional egg white

2 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. pecans, finely chopped

Caramel Filling:

14 soft caramel candies (I used Kraft)

3 T. heavy cream

Chocolate Drizzle:

1 square Semi Sweet Chocolate

How To Make It:

1. Mix flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, with an electric mixer. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until fully combined. Add the flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.

2. Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy.  Put chopped pecans in another bowl.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, and then roll in pecans. Using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. 

Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 10 minutes.

3. Microwave the caramels and heavy cream for 30 second intervals at a time stirring in-between until smooth.  Once cookies are out of the oven, repress the indentation in the center of the cookie. Fill the indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of the carmel mixture.  Cool on pan for about 10 minutes.  

4. Place chocolate in a bag or bowl to melt it in the microwave.  Stir chocolate at 30 second intervals to ensure there will be no burnt chocolate.  I use a Ziploc bag and cut the end off and drizzle away however you would like the design to be.  

Let these completely cool before you eat them. In my opinion, I hate them when warm, but once cooled I couldn't keep from popping them in my mouth.  They are bite sized so that makes them less calories right??..

Original Recipe