Cake for any Occasion

Two little secrets make this cake taste extra yummy.. the instant potato flakes and the chocolate chips. The mini chocolate chips give just enough chocolate bursts with every bite and the potato flakes keep the cake moist. This recipe is fabulous for any occasion and one we will be using in just a week for Greg's birthday. Enjoy...

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan; line with wax paper.

Heat water to boiling in small saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in potato flakes until moistened. Cool to room temperature. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in medium bowl.

Beat sugar and butter until crumbly. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat in potatoes. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with milk. Stir in morsels. Spoon into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto wire rack; remove wax paper. Cool completely. Transfer to serving platter.

Frost sides and top of cake with frosting of choice.

Baked Apples With Pretzel Crumble Topping

3 halved, cored apples {I use red apples}
3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 Tbsp crushed pretzels

Blend the butter, flour and brown sugar.
Stir in crushed pretzels.
Scatter over halved, cored apples.
Bake at 375 until apples are soft and topping is crisp {about 35-40 minutes}

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp {room temperature} unsalted butter
1 cup crushed pretzels
5 ounces milk chocolate, melted

Stir peanut butter, confectioner's sugar and butter together.
Stir in pretzels.
Form into 1-inch balls.
Freeze for 30 minutes.
Dip in melted milk chocolate.
Refrigerate until set.

Cupid Corn

This is my go-to recipe for almost every holiday. It's something we give at Christmas time to our neighbors and friends and also something I make during Halloween and Thanksgiving. My Beehives and ladies I VT love it and look forward to it during the holidays. So, here is my M&M popcorn recipe... Valentines Day style. :) A friend of mine calls it Cupid Corn, so that is the name I will use.

*2 bags of popcorn (I use light or no butter)
*1 package of (white chocolate) Almond Bark
*1 bag of Valentine M&M's (pink, red & white)
*Pink or red chocolate disks (optional, but definitely makes the popcorn look cute) :)
*Valentine Sprinkles


1. Pop the popcorn according to directions on bag.
2. Melt the almond bark in the microwave.
3. Mix the popcorn and white chocolate together.
4. Add the M&M's and sprinkles.
5. Lay out mixture on Parchment paper.
6. Melt about 10 pink or red disks in a plastic baggie, snip the end, drizzle all over the popcorn.
7. Let it dry and break into pieces and put in baggies for a cute V-Day gift.

Homemade Brownies

These are the easiest brownies, in the world, to make...

*1 12-ounce bag chocolate chips (use whichever kind you prefer)
*1 cup butter (2 sticks)
*1 1/2 cups sugar
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*4 large eggs (at room temperature)
*1 1/2 cups flour
*1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips.

3. Stir constantly and remove from heat when chips are fully melted.

4. In the same pot, blend in the sugar and vanilla.

5. Then add eggs, blending fully one at a time.

6. Add flour and salt and beat until air bubbles form in the batter.

7. Pour into a greased 9 X 13-inch pan & bake for 20 minutes.

8. Turn heat down to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.

**For a fun Valentine's Day presentation, stencil powdered sugar hearts on top of each brownie. To make a stencil, cut out a heart from the center of a piece of paper. Place the stencil on top of the brownie and sift powdered sugar over it. Carefully lift the paper to reveal the heart.**

Valentine Peanut Butter Blossoms

It's about that time... time to do some fun Valentine's Day baking. I LOVE holiday baking. This recipe is the original peanut blossom recipe, but instead of using a Hersey kiss, on top, use a heart chocolate. Makes a nice and festive V-Day treat.

* Heart shaped Chocolates (dove milk chocolates and Reese's peanut butter hearts)
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl. Add 1/3 cup granulated and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate heart into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. (we put them in the freezer because the chocolate hearts continue to melt)

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Oreo Truffles

This recipe is from allrecipes.com. It is E-A-S-Y to make and yummy, too! Enjoy! :)

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. package of Oreos, divided. Total of 45 Oreos
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

Crush 9 Oreos in blender and set aside. Crush remaining 36 Oreos and keep them separate. Beat cream cheese until smooth and add 36 crushed Oreos. Beat until well mixed. Form into 1 inch balls and then roll in remaining crushed Oreos. Refrigerate until firm.

Frosted Banana Cookies

Kylie and I made these cookies this morning and they are my new favorite. They even taste great without the frosting. They taste just like homemade banana bread. Yum-O! Thanks to my friend, Summer, for the recipe.

Cookies:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening (I didn't have butter-flavored, just re. shortening and they came out delicious still)
1 cup sugar
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 3)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup milk + 1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/4 cups flour

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Cream the butter and shortening. Add sugar, then bananas. Mix well. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Blend in buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over-beat. It will be a sticky batter. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. Cool completely.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Spread on cookies.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Fondue

Greg and I have been making this a lot lately... Yum-O! :) Even Savannah & Kylie are having fun eating it with their fruit.

Ingredients:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup half-and-half (I use fat free)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Assorted cut-up fruit, marshmallows, pretzels, angel food cake cubes... whatever else you can think of.

Melt together chocolate chips and half-and-half either by stirring in the top of a double boiler over simmering heat or by heating in the microwave for a few minutes, stopping every 30 seconds or so to stir. Stir in vanilla and serve hot.

Watermelon Ice

I found this recipe in Parents magazine and it is yummy and fun for the kids to eat. It's just like a snow cone, without all the added sugar... love that! I'm sure you could use other fruit too. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 cups of seedless watermelon
1 Tbs. lemon juice

In a blender, puree 6 cups of seedless watermelon with 1Tbs. lemon juice.
Scoop mixture into a square baking pan and smooth the top with a spoon.
Cover at least 3 hours.
Use an ice cream scoop to serve.

Cake Balls

This is me & the girls most favorite thing to make together! It's a little messy, but so fun to make and so yummy to eat! :)

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix of choice (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy). :)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them).
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer).
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package. (It is easier to only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot).
6. Roll balls in chocolate (use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra) and lay on wax paper until firm.

** You can use any type of cake mix and a fun thing to do is to insert lollipop sticks into the balls to make them look like suckers. **

(Super Easy) Thin Mint Cookies

Ingredients:
Ritz Crackers
Andes Mints
Crushed candy canes or peppermint if I have it.

Directions:
Melt the Andes Mints, dip the Ritz cracker in it (covering the entire cracker), sprinkle crushed candy cane and refrigerate until it is set.

That's it my friends! If you love mint, this will be a favorite! Tastes pretty dang close to the real thin mint girl scout cookies. Thanks to my friend, Summer for the yummy recipe!

Crunchy Caramel Reeces Cookie Bars

1 Roll Sugar Cookie Dough, Pillsbury (or use your favorite sugar cookie recipe)
1 Cup crushed pretzels
3 Cups mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped
10 Kraft caramels, unwrapped
1 Tablespoon milk
1/2 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Line a 8×8 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. Cut cookie dough roll in half and press half into bottom of baking dish. Layer with pretzels. Cut PB cups in half and layer over pretzels. Melt caramels and milk in a microwave safe bowl until melted, about 1-2 minutes in microwave. Pour caramel over PB cups. With remaining cookie dough, crumble evenly over top PB cups.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Let cool completely. Melt chocolate chips in microwave until smooth, drizzle over top of bars.

Makes 9 bars

Pretzel Turtles

small pretzels
Rolo candies - one bag has about 55 candies
Pecan halves - or optionally peanuts, cashews
m&m's
Optional: almond bark or white chocolate for drizzling

This is easy as can be! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet. Unwrap Rolo candies and place one on top of each pretzel like a cute little hat.
Place pan in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Any longer is probably too long. You just want the chocolate on the outside to look glossy and melty, but they should still hold their shape. Remove pan from oven and take a pecan and gently press it right into the center of the chocolate candy, until the carmel squishes out a little bit.

Here's where you can be creative. You don't need to stick to pecan halves. You can use cashews and peanuts. And for kiddos and those who can't eat nuts or don't like them, M&M's make a great little topper, or those mini Hershey's kissables are cute too.

If you want to get fancy you can give them a little drizzle of almond bark or white chocolate. Just melt some in a plastic baggie and nip the corner off to drizzle. A little goes a long way; I used a half a square of almond bark for half a batch and had plenty left over.

Gingerbread Cookies

Just finished decorating our gingerbread men with the girls. Such a fun Christmas tradition!

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. molasses
1 egg yolk
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Cream butter and sugar. Add molasses and egg yolk. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Chill for at least an hour. It's a fairly sticky dough so you might need to chill it a little longer.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough to 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2" apart on a baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. If you bake them on the short end they will stay soft and chewy and if you bake them on the longer end they will be nice and crispy. They're great either way!

Allow to cool about 5 minutes on pan and then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Once they're cooled you can decorate (the best part)!

Healthified Monkey Bread

Way less fat and fewer calories then the original recipe and still yummy! :)

1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated reduced-fat buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup fat-free caramel topping
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with cooking spray.
2. In 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate both cans of dough into 16 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Add biscuit pieces to sugar mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Layer biscuit pieces and pecans in pan.
3. In small bowl, mix caramel topping and vanilla. Pour over biscuit pieces.
4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.

White Chocolate Candy Popcorn

2 bags of microwavable popcorn ( I use butter, but you can choose)
1 bag of Christmas colored m&ms
1 package of vanilla almond bark

Pop popcorn, let cool. Melt almond bark according to directions. Pour over popcorn and stir around. Sprinkle m&ms in and mix. Let harden, then break up and put in baggies.(Other items you can add in to popcorn are: pretzels, nuts, cheerios, etc)

Another fun thing about this recipe is you can use it for many different holidays. I just made it for a little Halloween treat, but instead of the Christmas m&m's, I used Reeces Pieces & candy corn.

Death By Chocolate (aka Chocolate Trifle)

Ingredients:
2 boxes brownie mix
2 boxes instant chocolate pudding
1 12-oz container frozen whipped topping (thawed)
1 8-oz bag Heath toffee bits

Directions:
1. Prepare brownie mixes according to package directions and cool (or if you like to make brownies from scratch, you just need to make enough to yield two 9x13 pans of brownies)
2. Prepare chocolate pudding according to package directions
3. Break up the brownies into small pieces and place half in the bottom of a trifle dish or other large glass serving bowl.
4. Cover brownies with half of the pudding, 1/3 of the Heath toffee bits, and half of the whipped topping.
5. Repeat the layers, and then top with the remaining crushed candy.
6. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes up to 24 servings

New Years Resolution Cookies :)

Yes, these are healthier cookies. They are yummy and packed with healthy fats, fiber and protein. They are perfect for rewarding yourself without jeopardizing your New Year's resolutions. :)

1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup oil (or applesauce to be even healthier)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped dark chocolate

Heat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, oats, cinnamon and salt.
In a large bowl, mix together the egg whites, brown sugar, oil, milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix well. Mix in the raisins, zucchini, hazelnuts and chocolate. The mixture will be somewhat soupy.

Drop tablespoon size mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire cooling rack.

Makes about 30 cookies

HEALTHY Frozen Hot Chocolate

Okay, I am in heaven!! This drink is perfect for Houston... considering it's just never that cold here. :( I still prefer my hot chocolate hot, but this is a fun little treat when your craving the taste of hot cocoa, but it's just not cold enough outside for it. Ummm! Enjoy...

Ingredients:
Sugar Free Hot Cocoa Mix (can you regular if you are not on the mood for being healthy) :)
Skim Milk
Ice
Chocolate Protein Powder (I use this, but it is optional)

1. Place all ingredients in the blender. (I put a handful of ice and then cover the ice with milk~ You can adjust this to your liking).
2. Blend for deliciousness & enjoy. :)