Quick Dessert

Have a sweet craving that won't quit? Need a relatively quick and simple dessert you can take to a pitch in?  Perhaps you're just a cheese addict. Don't worry - this recipe will fill all your needs!

Dessert Cheese Ball

Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened            1/2 c. butter, softened              1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. confectionery sugar                  2 tbsp. brown sugar                  8 oz. chocolate chips
chopped pecans                                 graham crackers

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except pecans and graham crackers.
2. Roll into a ball and refrigerate until firm.
3. Roll ball in the chopped pecans
4. Serve with graham crackers.

Like I said, easy right? As always, have fun!

Candy Cake

What's your family tradition when it comes to dessert? Most holidays, there is the pie of choice. I wanted to do something different, especially with Easter focusing on all those candy treats from the Easter Bunny. This candy cake is easily customized to your taste preference. Use some Cadbury Mini Eggs, or MnMs or even Reeses. Perhaps you'll do a combination!  Nevertheless, you now can have your cake with candy too!

Candy Cake

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. flour             1 tbsp. baking powder            1/2 tsp. salt           2 sticks unsalted butter 2 c. finely chopped candies (snickers, almond joy, reeses, etc.)         1 1/2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, separated  2 tsp. vanilla extract         1 1/4 c. milk         1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Icing:          4 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped           1/2 c. heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Butter and flour a nonstick Bundt pan.
3. Sift 3 c. flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, toss candies with remaining 1/2 c. flour.
5. Using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter and sugar until light (3 minutes).
6. Add yolks, one at a time.
7. Beat in vanilla.
8. Beat in a 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of milk.
9. Repeat, ending with flour mixture - do not overmix.
10. In a clean, dry bowl using dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
11. Stir candies and 1/3 of egg whites into batter.
12. Fold in remaining whites.
13. Spoon into bundt pan.
14. Bake until toothpick comes out clean (50-60 minutes).
15. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold cake.
16. Icing: Place chocolate in a bowl.
17. Warm cream in a pan over medium heat until just boiling.
18. Pour over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute.
19. Whisk until smooth.
20. Let cool slightly, then pour over cake, allowing excess to drip over sides.

Make sure you are stocked up on your breakfast supplies. I'll be offering up a pancake recipe tomorrow morning that you won't want to miss. It could become your new Easter tradition! (Hint: have ingredients normally a part of a pancake recipe plus bacon and cheese) As always have fun!

It's Easter Egg Hunt Time!

Actually,  I would recommend sticking with plastic eggs for the hunt since you don't know how many hands might touch them and where they might end up, especially in an outdoor hunt. My eggs make a great prize though and a superb addition to any Easter basket.

Crunchy Chocolate Eggs

Ingredients:
1 c. brown sugar             1 c. light corn syrup            1 c. peanut butter           2 c. cornflakes
2 c. crisp rice cereal        1/2 c. chopped peanuts      3 3/4 c. chocolate chips 
1 1/2 tsp. shortening       candy sprinkles

Directions:

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter.
2. Cook and stir over medium heat until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and stir in cereals and peanut butter.
4. When cool enough to handle, drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper lined baking sheets.
5. Form into egg shapes.
6. Refrigerate until firm.
7. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening.
8. Stir until smooth.
9. Dip eggs in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off.
10. Place on wax paper lined baking sheets.
11. Decorate with sprinkles and let stand until set.

And be warned - this recipe makes 4 1/2 dozen, so you'll have plenty for Easter baskets and some for guests to have after Easter dinner too!

Stay tuned this week for a day by day guide to Easter meals, from appetizers to the main course to dessert and more!

As always, have fun!

Helping Out the Easter Bunny

Do you find yourself wondering what to do about your child's Easter basket? Perhaps you aren't a fan of giving them that massive sugar high. Or maybe they don't like chocolate. Or maybe you can't justify overpaying for candy that will be half price by Easter afternoon. No matter what the reason, you have options! I personally think homemade holiday treats make it that much more special. That's why everyone gets Christmas baskets of homemade goodies from me every year. If you're still skeptical, read on. This is a relatively quick and easy recipe that has unique flavor in a day filled with chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies and chocolate chocolate!

Cranberry Popcorn Bars

Ingredients:
6 c. popped popcorn                       3 c. mini marshmallows                   1 tbsp. butter
1 c. dried cranberries, chopped      1 c. walnuts, chopped                      2 tbsp. orange peel
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Place popcorn in a large bowl.
2. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, cook and stir marshmallows and butter until smooth.
3. Stir in cranberries, walnuts, orange peel and salt.
4. Mix well.
5. Pour over popcorn and toss to coat.
6. Press into a greased 11 x 7 x 2 baking pan.
7. Cool and cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Tune in tomorrow for a more traditional easter treat. It's got a few more steps than this but it was a huge hit last year with my Realtor pals!

As always, have fun!

Fudge!

Ok so I get "really, you make candy? It's so much work" quite a bit. However, I don't think that's a true statement in every case.  There are plenty of candy recipes that require the candy thermometer and a whole lot of patience, but there are plenty that are very basic. I get rave reviews on my peanut butter fudge - another one I've stolen from Taste of Home (I highly recommend this magazine!).  In fact, one person said it reminded her of Reese's peanut butter, and I consider that a high compliment!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:
2 c. sugar           1/2 c. milk           1 1/3 c. peanut butter        1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, bring sugar and milk to a boil.
2. Boil for 3 minutes.
3. Add peanut butter and marshmallow.
4. Mix well.
5. Quickly pour into a buttered 8 in. square pan.
6. Chill until set and cut into squares.

Yes, it's really that easy! If you have patience, candy making can be a lot of fun. Whether it's something like this with a few simple steps or even a toffee that you have to be careful with getting the temperature just right, it's very cool to see it all come together.  And candy always makes a good present.

Just remember - as always, have fun!

Pantry Basics

If you have a well stocked pantry, you can usually make quite a bit without having to go to the grocery store. It takes a lot of work to get the right variety and amounts of things as base for your cooking, but well worth the investment. As you get better at thinking out two or three meals in advance, you begin to see commonalities amongst your ingredients. You've seen it with the recipes I've shared lately - by investing in making your own tomato sauce in bulk, you created enough sauce for at least a week or two that you don't need to buy!

This is also very true when it comes to baking. For the most part, if you have flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, butter, eggs, oil and baking soda/baking powder, you can make quite a few things. I also keep vanilla and baking cocoa in stock.

Here's one simple dessert that takes most of my "stocked ingredients" and is pretty tasty too.

Brownies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. cocoa            2 c. sugar                  1/2 tsp. baking soda            2 eggs           2/3 c. oil
1 1/3 c. flour           1/2 c. boiling water     1 tsp. vanilla                        1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Mix cocoa and baking soda.
2. Blend in 1/3 c. oil.
3. Add boiling water and mix until it thickens.
4. Stir in sugar, eggs and oil.
5. Stir until smooth.
6. Add flour, vanilla and salt.
7. Pour in a 9x13 greased pan.
8. Pop in the oven for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

As always, have fun!

Happy Anniversary

I love celebrations, mostly because it's a good excuse for me to cook and/or bake. Like I really need a reason, right? Saying you'll come over for dinner is enough for me to plan a full out meal. I remember having our friend Brian Craw for dinner and making cornish game hens. He was a typical bachelor and had never seen them before. He certainly never left our house hungry!

Anyway, today's recipe is honor of another really special person, my cousin/little sister/friend/mini me Danielle. It's her and Berto's anniversary today so I asked her what she likes - cheesecake! Of course, I can never just make a simple cheesecake. That just wouldn't be me!

Tiny Cherry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
1 c. flour                   1/3 c. sugar                 1/4 c. baking cocoa           1/2 c. cold butter       
2 tbsp. cold water     6 oz. cream cheese    1/4 c. sugar                        2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla             1 egg                           1 can cherry pie filling

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar and cocoa.
2. Cut in butter until crumbly.
3. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms.
4. Shape into 24 little balls.
5. Place balls in a greased mini muffin pan.
6. Press dough to bottom and up the sides of each cup.
7. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
8. Beat in milk and vanilla.
9. Add egg and beat on low just until combined.
10. Spoon about 1 tbsp. into each cup.
11. Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes.
12. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour. 
13. Remove from pan and finish cooling.
14. Top with pie filling and store in the refrigerator.

What's your favorite sweets to share  with your sweetie pie? 

As always, have fun!

Easy Root Beer Cupcakes

It's time to circle back and do another dessert recipe. I picked this one for those who don't fancy themselves as bakers.  I, as you all know, love to do everything from scratch. I've made my own candy, pudding etc. I just love to put that level of detail into everything. That's why when I do a trifle, it usually turns into hours long. I'm just that crazy.

Sometimes, you just don't have the time to do it though. That's where this wonderfully sweet recipe comes in. You can pair these cupcakes with vanilla ice cream and it's almost like having a root beer float!

Root Beer Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 pkg. golden cake mix          4 tsp. root beer concentrate, divided          1 carton cool whip

Directions:

1. Prepare and bake cupcakes according to package directions, adding 2 tsp. of the concentrate when mixing.
2. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
3. In a small bowl, mix cool whip and the other 2 tsp. of concentrate. 
4. Spread over cupcakes. 

This is also a nice cheap recipe to replicate. I bet you could do it as a full cake if you wanted.

As always, have fun!

My Valentines

Ok so I have to admit that I really didn't think I would be writing about Valentine's Day on Valentine's Day. I know that sounds funny to most but it's never been high on my favorite holiday list. I've always wondered why you need a special day to tell someone you love them when you should do that every day. Then, my cynical self said it's a greeting card industry holiday designed to make a buck. Finally, the crushing blow. My favorite valentine from when I could walk and talk, my grandfather, died on Valentine's. Pretty cruel right?

On this 14th anniversary of his passing, I can tell you it doesn't get easier, not really. I have my good days and bad days, good years and bad etc. But how do you ever get over the loss of someone so essential in your life? Well, you live it - because at the end of the day you know that person would hate you moping and mourning what could have been. So, I choose you dear reader. You're my valentine. I was lucky to have grandparents who loved me and a grandfather I absolutely adored. My recipes today are in honor of both of them.

Nana's Famous Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken wings         3 tbsp. soy sauce       1 tbsp. sugar    3 tbsp. 7-up    2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. vinegar (she used white, I use balsamic) dash of tabasco (not necessary)
                                    
Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients except chicken together.
2. Marinate chicken in sauce overnight.
3. Bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
4. Switch to broil setting and broil for a few minutes until crisp.

Everyone's at least heard of my nana's chicken wings, if not tried them at some point. What recipe to do for Grampy though? He wasn't exactly the cook of the family. I could talk about Magni's bread and peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, but I have a feeling that's an acquired taste. Or perhaps I could tell you about how I hated beer until he passed and the night of his wake when we went to the 99, the whole table looked at me like I was nuts when I ordered a Bud Light. Thanks Grampy!  Instead, I choose an ingredient that embodies him. His love of cashews, which I happily inherited. I could eat cashews all day long!

Butterscotch Cashew Bars

Ingredients:

1 c. + 2 tbsp. butter, softened    3/4 c. + 2 tbsp. brown sugar     2 1/2 c. flour     1 3/4 tsp. salt

10 oz. butterscotch chips           1/2 c. + 2 tbsp. light corn syrup         3 tbsp. butter

2 tsp. water                                2 1/2 c. salted cashew halves

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine butter and brown sugar.
2. Add flour and salt until just combined.
3. Press into a greased 15x10x1 pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
5. Combine butterscotch chips, corn syrup, butter and water in a saucepan.
6. Cook and stir over medium heat until chips and butter are melted.
7. Spread over crust.
8. Sprinkle with cashews and press down lightly.
9. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until topping is bubbly and light brown.
10. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

So again Happy Valentine's Day to all of you - hope your day was special. Mine always is despite the sadness because I have plenty of valentines, past, present and future to warm my heart.

As always, have fun!

Sweets that aren't so sweet

I write today's blog in honor of my mother, who tried a new recipe yesterday and it ended up being an epic fail. It was a bread pudding that she kept putting off trying and then just had to because it sounded so good. Unfortunately, it was far too sweet for her palette. I know a lot of people like that - who love sweets but they just can't be too sweet. My husband is another one. Favorite desserts include a good old fashioned cherry pie, a simple cheesecake and, when he gets adventurous, his Grandma Welker's sugar cream pie. So in the spirit of sweets that aren't too sticky sweet, I bring you hot milk cake.

Hot Milk Cake

Ingredients:
4 eggs     2 c. sugar    2 1/4 c. flour     2 1/4 tsp. baking powder     1 tsp. vanilla     
1 1/4 c. milk                10 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Beat eggs on high until thick, about 5 minutes.
2. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
3. Combine flour and baking powder.
4. Add to batter with vanilla.
5. Beat on low until smooth.
6. Combine milk and butter in a saucepan until butter melts, stirring occasionally.
7. Add to batter, beating until combined.
8. Pour in a 9x13 pan.
9. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

With two cups of sugar in this bad boy, you'd think it would be a lot sweeter than it is.  I'm here to tell you this is one of the best cakes I've found out there. It absolutely does not require frosting. In fact, I think frosting it would take away from its flavor. What's your favorite dessert? Are you sticky sweet or more subtle?

As always, have fun!

Super Bowl Sweets

So I know you've been drooling all week over all these savory munchies. Did you forget one very important thing? Sweets! All the traditional foods you make on Super Bowl Sunday involve wings, dips, meatballs, etc. At the end of all that savory food, you may just want a bite of something sweet.

Frosted Brownie Pizza

Ingredients:

Crust:
1/2 c. butter (no substitutions)     2 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate     1 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour                                   2 eggs, beaten

Frosting:
1 c. confectionery sugar        1/3 c. peanut butter          1 1/2 tsp. vanilla     2-4 tbsp. milk

Topping:

Taste of Home suggestions the following, but honestly I think you could use whatever your favorite candy and nuts are - just make sure they are in bite size pieces.

3/4 c. plain M&Ms     1/2 c. flaked coconut, toasted     1/2 c. chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:

1. Melt butter, chocolate and sugar. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in flour until smooth.
3. Add eggs and beat until smooth.
4. Spread on a greased pizza pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool completely.
6. In a mixing bowl, beat sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and milk.
7. Spread over brownie crust. 
8. Top with desired coconut, candy and nuts. 

Slice this up Donato's style and you have quick sweet bites to counter all the savory goodness of the day.

As always, have fun!

Wishing for Summer Treats

Though this winter hasn’t been as bad as it could have been, I’m ready for some warm weather. I just find cold to be a bit depressing all the time.  On the other hand, I love a good cold dessert on a hot summer’s day! I think this has a lot to do with my birthday tradition growing up. Ice cream cake! Those of you from Waltham – remember Dean Dairy? I LOVED picking out my ice cream cake every year there. I think my favorite was the unicorn cake with the lollipop horn.

In this vein, I have another super easy crowd pleaser. In fact, I made this for my boss’s retirement party in May and got rave reviews. Typically, for my work functions, I never repeat a recipe. This is a rule I instituted so that there would always be an element of surprise to what I brought in. Plus, it guaranteed I could always try something new! I had so many requests for this recipe that I made another one for a group in July.

No Bake Oreo Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 c. hot fudge     1 tub cool whip     1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

2 c. chopped oreos     12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Directions:

1. Whisk hot fudge with 1 c. cool whip.
2. Add dry pudding mix.
3. Stir in 1 c. cookies.
4. Arrange a layer of 4 ice cream sandwiches on a plate.
5. Top with the cool whip mixture.
6. Repeat layers.
7. Top with remaining sandwiches.
8. Frost with the rest of the cool whip.
9. Cover with the remaining cookies.

As always, have fun!

Pseudo-Cheesecake?

People often say you are either a baker or a cooker, but not both. I can safely say I am both. I love to cook and experiment with flavors and combinations of food. But, I also love baking. I have always found baking as a great relaxer. I bake every Christmas for everyone and get rave reviews.

I know not everyone loves to put the time and detailed attention in that is required by baking. In that spirit, I give you today’s recipe – Cheesecake Crescent Rolls. All the flavor and fun of cheesecake and less work.

Cheesecake Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls    16 oz. cream cheese, softened     1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sugar     1/4 c. butter     cinnamon & sugar, to taste

Directions:

1. Unroll & spread one can of crescent rolls in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
2. Combine cream cheese, 1 c. sugar  and vanilla.
3. Spread on top of the crescent rolls.
4. Unroll and spread the 2nd can on top.
5. Drizzle melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.
6. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

See? What did I tell you? Quick and delicious. So, tell me, do you prefer cooking or baking? Why or why not?

As always, have fun!