Strawberry Sauce

The ladies and I went strawberry picking today along with my mother-in-law and we came home with a big ol' bucket of strawberries that were just screaming to be made into something delicious. I adore strawberry sauce on pancakes and ice cream so I just knew I had to whip up a batch. I've never had homemade sauce before and I couldn't believe how delicious this was. Addison helped me make this and we both had giant smiles on our faces after we gave it a taste test. If you love strawberry sauce as much as I do, you must make this as soon as possible.

Katie's Homemade Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 cups of sliced strawberries

Directions:
1.) In a medium saucepan over medium high heat add sugar, vanilla, and strawberries.

2.) Bring to a boil and allow to boil for about ten minutes. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for another five to ten minutes.

3.) Allow mixture to slightly cool and then blend about 2/3 of the mixture. Add blended mixture back to saucepan and allow to completely cool. Store in an air tight jar and keep refrigerated.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Our fridge and pantry are almost bare here in our house so I was on a mission to find a sweet treat to make that included ingredients that I still had on hand.

I recently discovered Stephanie over on her blog Macaroni and Cheesecake and it's become another favorite of mine. As soon as I saw this cake I just knew I had to give it a shot.

We ate ours still slightly warm out of the oven and it literally melted in my mouth. It's like a cross between regular ol' cake and a good coffee cake and it will definitely be made again. This would be awesome served for a brunch on a holiday such as Easter and/or Christmas.

Cinnamon Roll Cake
Source: Six Sister’s Stuff

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 tbsp. butter, melted
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
5 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray, set aside.

2.) In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 3 cups flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, & vanilla.  Mix until fully incorporated.  Reduce speed to low and slowly pour in the 4 tbsp. melted butter.

3.)Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.

4.) Clean your stand mixer bowl and once clean, add in the 2 sticks softened butter, brown sugar, 2 tbsp. flour, and cinnamon.  Beat until fully incorporated.  Mixture will be thick.

5.) Spoon dollops of the cinnamon butter mixture on top of the cake batter.  Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon butter mixture into the cake.

6.) Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and place in pan on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile mix together your glaze.  In medium sized bowl, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour over cake while it is still warm and carefully swirl the pan around or spread the glaze around so that it is evenly distributed over the cake.  Serve cake warm or at room temperature.  Store leftovers in airtight container.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

During the day when I'm not being forced to watch the Disney Junior channel, I immediately turn on the Food Network. I love watching others cook and I really love getting inspiration to try my own creating. One afternoon while watching the Barefoot Contessa make a batch of these, I just knew I had to give them a try. I made them for a family dinner at our house and everyone enjoyed them. Daniel proclaimed that they weren't really peanut butter and jelly because I made it with raspberry jam instead of grape but what can you do.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Source: Ina Garten

Ingredients:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (She suggests Skippy, but I used a store brand and they were fine)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I left these out)

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo.

Directions:

 1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.) Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

3.)In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

4.) In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

5.) Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown.

6.) Cool and cut into squares.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

O.M.G.!!! There is no other way to describe this cake. I whipped this baby up in no time last night and managed to let it cool for about twenty minutes before I couldn't take it anymore and dove right in. It was delicious and still slightly warm which meant the chocolate chips sprinkled on top were still slightly melted.
The best part of this cake, besides its taste, was the fact I paid around $2.00 for it. Yes, two smackeroos! I bought a store brand cake mix at $1.19, I got the pudding on sale for 50 cents, and since there was a small amount of milk in it, I guessed that it came in around that two dollar mark.

This will most definitely get made again in our house with a glass of nice cold milk to go along with it. Try it, trust me when I say that you will not be disappointed.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to eat my second piece of the day...lol.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake
Source: eat, live, run

Ingredients:
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 small box of instant chocolate pudding
1 3/4 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) In a medium mixing bowl add pudding and milk. Whisk until dry pudding mix has fully dissolved and becomes thick.
3.) Add dry cake mix into pudding mix and whisk until fully incorporated. Batter will be really thick!
4.) Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish and add batter mixture. Spread evenly among pan.
5.) Bake for thirty minutes or until edges have begun pulling away from the sides.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

It's no secret that someone in this house has a serious sweet tooth. Part of being married to Daniel means always having ice-cream readily available. I think it was part of my vows to him...lol. His sweet tooth goes beyond just ice-cream. In order to quench his need for ice-cream it also means that you must have either chocolate or caramel sauce on stand by, as well as having sprinkles or having some sort of chip available. Chocolate chips, mint chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, he has no preference, as long as he has some chips to sprinkle on top. Personally, I can make a half a gallon of ice-cream last for weeks. He's lucky if he can make his last a week and then my ice-creams safety becomes jeopardized. It's quite entertaining really. He'll eat all of his, then for a couple of days you can tell he's dying to start on my ice-cream but he isn't brave enough to ask. Then after the first couple of days I give in and let him dig into mine. It's my wifely duty to make sure he and his tummy are happy!

Now, I would be lying if I said I didn't have a sweet tooth as well. I couldn't turn down a chocolate chip cookie or a piece of cake, preferably store bought, to save myself. When we don't have this kind of stuff at home I'm fine as I don't typically crave them. Sadly though, when they are in this house, I have a real problem staying away from them. I have an even bigger problem staying away from the sweet recipes I find on-line on a daily basis.

This bark is a little gem that I once again found on Pinterest. That site is doing horrible things to my waist line I tell ya! I just made the Southwest Chicken that I discovered on there the other night, and I'm already anxious to make it again. This bark will be no different. I just made it this morning and I won't admit to how many pieces I have already had. What is great is that I pretty much always have these ingredients on hand. I think the hubby was kind of impressed when I told him I made the caramel sauce from scratch!

The recipe originated over at The Legume Loyalist, but I pinned it from the mama say what blog. 

I will take this stuff over a bowl of ice-cream any day of the week!


Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

Ingredients:
2 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 a bag of pretzel twists, I used pretzel sticks as that is what I had on hand.
1 bag of chocolate chips
Sea salt

Directions:
1.) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Then line a large jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and lay a single layer of pretzels down.

3.) In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and the brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil gently just until it starts to stick to the bottom and it forms a nice smooth caramel. You’ll want to let it bubble a little and get really thick.

4.) Remove from heat and pour evenly over the top of the pretzels (don’t worry if every single pretzel isn’t covered). Put in the oven at 350 degrees for five minutes.

5.) Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Place it back in the oven for a minute or two to allow the chips to melt.

6.) Spread the chocolate chips around with a spatula.

7.) Sprinkle generously with sea salt.

8.) Let cool on the counter top for a few minutes and then pop in the freezer for at least two to three hours.
 * My lack of patience allowed it to freeze up for about two hours. Three hours was out of the question!

9.) When it comes out of the freezer, break it up into uneven chunks with your hands and serve. Or if you skip the aluminum foil step like I did, cut it into pieces and then scrape it out with a spatula. If you don't use the foil, make sure you lightly spray your pan.

How can you say no to something so gorgeous and enticing?

I've linked up this week with The Purple Pumkin blog where I've feature my peanut butter chocolate chips brownies. Be sure to go check it out!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

I've been trying really hard lately not to buy store bought cookies or other sweets. They are expensive and don't usually last long around this place. We love our sweets, especially my husband. I've decided that I will only make sweets for us from now on, not only to save money, but to help our waistlines. I figure I will want to have a sweet pretty darn bad to actually whip something up.

After browsing the Internet for a good brownie recipe I stumbled upon one that looked scrumptious. The only problem was, was that I didn't have any cocoa powder. Well I had already started to melt the butter that the recipe called for so its not like I could just back out. I forged ahead and created these little beauties. We loved them and the girls enjoyed helping me sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. I love having the girls in there cooking with me. Some of my best memories of my grandma are in her kitchen cooking.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies
Inspired by: bunsinmyoven.com

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1.) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10x15 inch baking dish.
2.) In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add in peanut butter and stir until complete incorporated. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.
3.) Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, eggs,  and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
4.) Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
 5.) Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted into the center. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked. Allow brownies to cool before serving.

Serve with a cold glass of milk and you have  yourself a wonderful, sweet snack!

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Since I'm still feeling pretty good I decided to whip up a batch of no bake cookies last night for Daniel, Addie, and my Mom. I'll admit I had one to make sure they were edible for my family but other than that I'm gonna have to stay away from them. I'm not allowed to have a lot of fiber so the oats aren't very friendly to me right now.

I attempted to make no bake cookies once before when I was in high school or something and if I remember correctly they didn't turn out. Tonight's turned out pretty good even though all the times I watched my step-mom make them I don't recall her putting peanut butter in them. Maybe that's why the first batch I ever made failed to turn out correctly?

Anyway, I grabbed the recipe off line and now I'm sharing it with you!

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies~

Source: blisstree.com

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp. vanilla

3 cups oats

Directions:

1.) In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk. Allow to boil for one minute. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats.

2.) Drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper until cooled and hardened.

*I was trying to get dinner ready and keep a certain toddler out of trouble while making these so I didn't have time to make actual cookies. I lightly sprayed a baking sheet and spread the mixture out evenly in the pan. After it cooled I cut them into bars.

Seriously, what is going on with blogger? One minute I can't link up to anything and the next I can. I'm also having problems with spacing...am I the only one having this problem or what?

Triple Threat Brownies

Looking for something sweet to make that's easy to throw together? You must try these brownies. They hit the spot without being overly sweet.

Triple Threat Brownies

Source: Me

Ingredients:

1 box of Better Crocker Fudgy Brownies, the 13x9 family size

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup caramel bits

Directions:

1.) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Mix brownies according to the back of the box. To mixture add the pecans, white chocolate chips, and the caramel bits.

3.) Add mixture to a greased 13x9 baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool before cutting or else your brownies will crumble upon taking them out like the picture shows. Somebody, OK me, couldn't wait for them to cool before taking one for a test drive.

Serves with a nice big glass of ice cold milk and you have a heck of a dessert on your hands!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Here's another sweet treat for everyone and it's another one I found from the Recipe Shoebox blog. Both my Mom and Daniel really enjoyed this but even though I thought it was good I wasn't head over heels for it. Next time I may switch things up a bit by using graham crackers for the crust and strawberry pie filling instead of the ice cream topping.


Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
~Recipe Shoebox

Ingredients:
1- 16oz. package of Pecan Sandies cookies, divided
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted
11 ounces cream cheese softened (I could only find the 12oz. container)
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 cups sour cream
1 1/4 cups strawberry ice cream filling or strawberry pie filling

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a food processor, process all but six of the pecan sandies. Mix with melted butter and lightly press onto the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
2.)In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract, and sour cream. Beat on high for 4-5 minutes.
3.) Spread half of the cheesecake batter over the pecan sandie crust. Pour 3/4 cups of the strawberry ice cream topping over the cheesecake batter.
4.) Spread remaining cheesecake batter over the strawberry layer and then spoon the 1/2 cup of strawberry ice cream topping over the batter.
5.) Being careful not to cut into the surface of the cookie crust, swirl the strawberry mixture with a butter knife.
6.) Bake for 25-35 minutes or until center is jiggly, but not liquid. While baking process remaining six cookies. During the last ten minutes of baking, sprinkle the cookies on top of the cheesecake. Chill for at least eight hours and cut into squares.

Triple Chocolate Cake

We have some serious sweet tooth's here in our house and it's to the point I think I bake more than I cook. Since I am sick of baking chocolate chip cookies and since it takes so much time to do so I decided to whip up this Triple Chocolate Cake. I found the recipe on this blog and found the recipe itself to be very vague. Being the intelligent person that I am I just whipped it up and hoped that I did it correctly. If you think about it how can you screw up anything that involves chocolate?

Triple Chocolate Cake~

Source: Recipe Shoebox

Ingredients:

1 Chocolate Cake mix

1 3/4 cup milk or water, we both used milk

1- 4 oz. package instant chocolate pudding

1- 12 oz. bag chocolate chips

2 eggs

Directions:

1.) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) Mix together dry cake mix, instant pudding, chocolate chips, milk, and then eggs. Mix until incorporated.

3.) Prepare a 9 or 10 inch bundt pan with grease and flour.

4.) Add cake mix and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

5.) Allow to cool for five minutes and gently ease it out of bundt pan. To complete cake sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

Enjoy all of this wonderful chocolaty goodness with a big glass of ice cold milk and you're all set for a scrumptious dessert.

Chow mein clusters & Merry Christmas

Am I the only one who is in complete shock over the fact that Christmas is in two days?

Seriously where has the month of December gone to. I am really excited to get to celebrate Addison's first Christmas but at the same time I am not looking forward to afterwords. The month of January for me is going to be absolutely crazy. Not only do I have to prepare for the newest addition to our little family of three but I also have to plan somebody's first birthday party. My goal is to have the party planned, invitations ready to be sent out, and the menu planned all by the middle of January. Apparently we didn't think through the having two children almost exactly a year apart very well or I would have at least put a month or so between birthdays. I have planned Addison's party for the last weekend of February so worse case scenario is that we'll have a week old newborn along for the ride. Thank God my OB won't let me go over my due date because we don't want to discuss how upset I would be if I was stuck in the hospital during the big party.

Anyway, I have been busy creating goodies these past few days with a few more yet to go. I shared a few of them with you last year but a couple are brand spanking new for me this year. One of the recipes will be posted without a picture since my Mom and husband devoured it before a picture could be taken. Sweets DO NOT last long in this house!

First up is one that I stumbled upon last year. I saw it on allrecipes.com and shortly after saving the recipe for future use Daniel mentioned that one of the ladies at work had made them and he loved them. I never got the chance to whip them up last year but I fixed that this year and I must admit...they are pretty darn good and were really easy to make.

Chow Mein Clusters~

Ingredients:
10 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate morsels
10 oz. bag butterscotch morsels
2 1/2 cups chow mein noodles
2 cups salted peanuts

Directions:
1.) In a double boil over medium heat melt together chocolate and butterscotch morsels until smooth.
2.) Add peanuts and noodles to melted chocolate/butterscotch and mix, coating peanuts and noodles evenly.
3.) Drop by rounded tablespoon on lined baking sheet and transfer to fridge to harden.

*If you don't have parchment paper to line your baking sheet just lightly spray your baking sheet with the butter spray you use to keep cakes and such from sticking to baking dishes.

And what's a post about sweets without a picture of this sweet? This time last year I was counting down the weeks until she would be making her appearance and now here I am having to strap her in her high chair just so I can bake without tripping over her. While she isn't exactly elbow deep in cookie dough this year, she's taking more of a supervisor approach to Mom's baking, I have loved having her around...it makes me feel more of a Mommy at Christmas with a little one under foot.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

Hold onto your britches...break out your snow gear, Katie's finally posting a new recipe so the snows about to get deep here!

I cannot believe I haven't posted anything since August 12th. I have an Uncle who is mighty disappointed in me. I would like to give you some really great excuse such as I am so busy it's not even funny but honestly it has nothing to do with that although having an eight month old crawling around and being five months pregnant does slow things down a bit. I just haven't been cooking much and plus the cable to my camera allowing me to download pictures straight to the computer broke so I knew it was no use until I got a new one. I finally did so tonight's the night I blog.

My Mom celebrated her birthday on the 20th so I did a family dinner tonight. I asked her what kind of cake she would like and this is what she requested. I have never heard of a fruit cocktail cake before so I was a tad bit nervous but I must say it's pretty good, especially when it is still warm. Very easy to make and very few ingredients.


Fruit Cocktail Cake~
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 pinches salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can fruit cocktail with juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (7 ounce) package flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, Beat eggs and 1 1/2 cups white sugar together until smooth. Beat in flour mixture and fruit cocktail with juice. Spread into prepared pan. Mix together the brown sugar and chopped nuts; sprinkle on top of cake.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately poke holes in cake with fork. Pour topping over cake.
4. To make the topping: In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, and stir in coconut.

On another note...can you believe my baby is eight months old? Where does the time fly. In just four months she is going to be big sister and we will be welcoming our second daughter. Cadence Leah should be here around February 19th...two days after Addison's first birthday. Come February when I am back to not blogging my excuse really will be that I am so busy I can't see straight...lol.

Banana Cheesecake Dessert

This recipe comes compliments of my July/August 2003 issue of Taste of Homes Quick Cooking magazine. I love these magazines and really need to renew my subscription. Most of the food they show us are the foods I grew up with, down home country favorites like Grandma used to make.

This dessert was really good and for the most part very easy to make. My only complaint was the crust...for whatever reason it stuck to the dish I made it in and I literally had to scrape it out to eat it. Not sure what I could have done to prevent it, suggestions are welcome!

Banana Cheesecake Dessert~
Source: Taste of Home/Jessica Simerly

Ingredients:
2 packages strawberry no-bake cheesecake mix
3/4 cup butter or margarine melted...I used butter
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups cold milk1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
3 medium bananas, sliced
1/2 cup chocolate ice cream topping, warmed, divided...I used hot fudge
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 carton (8oz) whipped topping, thawed
1/3 cup chopped pecans, I omitted
maraschino cherries with stems

Directions:
1.) Set aside filling and strawberry topping packets from cheesecake mixes. Place the contents of the crust mix packets in a large bowl; add butter and sugar. Press into a ungreased 13x9 dish.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk and contents of filling packets. Beat on low speed until blended. Beat on high for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spread over the crust. Refrigerate for one hour.

3.) Spread contents of strawberry topping packets over cheesecake. Top with pineapple and bananas. Drizzle with 1/4 of chocolate topping and 1/4 caramel topping. Spread with whipped topping.

4.) Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Before serving drizzle with remaining chocolate and caramel toppings. Top with pecans and cherries.

Yield: 16-20 servings

Extreme Chocolate Cake

I can't believe I have posted so many items this week. There for awhile I thought I had fallen off the face of the blog world.

After making all of these yummy meals from Cassie Craves I needed something sweet to satisfy my sweet tooth so I decided to give a homemade cake a whirl. Honestly...this is the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted...the icing could be a little better but it is still yummy.

Extreme Chocolate Cake~
Courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose white flower
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling hot water (I used 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee)

Icing:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
5 1/3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two nine inch cake pans.

2.) In a medium bowl stir together the dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla mixing for three minutes. Carefully stir in the boiling hot water or coffee. Pour mixture into cake pans as evenly as possible. Batter will appear rather runny so don't fret like I almost did.

3.) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes before removing from pans to cool further.

4.) In a second bowl cream together butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar alternating with the milk and vanilla. Beat until mixture is a spreading consistency.

5.) Split the cake layers horizontally. Cover the top of each layer with frosting and then stack together. Finish cake by frosting around the sides of the cake. (I did not do this...I just kept it at two layers instead of the four like the recipe called for.)

Blonde Brownies

I'mmmm back!! Aren't you so excited...lol. I tend to cook and bake more when Daniel is home from work...it is when I finally have someone to hold the baby so I can get stuff done.

My sweet tooth has been in overdrive lately and so today after getting a craving for brownies I browsed around and stumbled upon this one.

Toll House Blonde Brownies~Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (12 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions:

1. PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan.
2. COMBINE flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Beat sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spread into prepared pan.
3. BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

These were all right but because they taste so much like cookies it's hard to think that they are actually brownies. I did bake these in a 9x13 inch pan to make them a little thicker, if I hadn't they probably would have been more cookie like. I adjusted the cooking time to around 30 minutes. I felt they were a little on the dry side but they definitely met the approval of my sweet tooth.

Cookie #2

I know, I know, I'm a little behind with this cooking baking deal that I promised everyone but honestly did you expect any differently? Procrastination...isn't it wonderful? Anyway, here is cookie number two and it is really yummy.


Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles~
allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.) Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3.) Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4.) Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

I got a little under three dozen cookies out of this batch which means lots of snickerdoodles to munch on during the week!




glitter-graphics.com

Cookie #1

Cookie number one has been baked and is ready to go. I must say for as simple as this cookie is it packs a powerful flavor punch. For those of you who like lemon anything this is the cookie for you. The downfall is that people will know when you have had one because the powdered sugar drops all over your "girls", or wait...maybe that is a problem that only I have...LOL.


Lemon Coolers~

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz.) package lemon cake mix
1 (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed
1 egg
2 cups powdered sugar, I only needed about one cup.

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) Mix together cake mix, whipped topping and egg. Drop by teaspoonfuls into bowl of confectioners' sugar and coat. Shape into balls. (Putting dough in the freezer for a few minutes really helps)
3.) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not brown.

Tis' the Season

I absolutely adore this time of year. I think it has something to do with the Christmas carols, decorations, and the sense of family that seems so strong during these times. Another one of my favorite things about the Christmas season are cookies, lots and lots of cookies, and I think my husband couldn't agree more.

I am going to branch out of just doing cookies and hopefully incorporate quick breads to go along with all of the other baked goodness in our home. I am excited for our 2nd annual cookie exchange as well as baking for gifts and those just because moments.

I have compiled a list of items I hope to make during the next 24 days. Thank goodness my MIL Sue stocked piled our freezer with butter, I do believe I will use every last pound over the course of these next few weeks. The goal is to make two to three different kinds each week, I will be more than happy if I can knock out one. I have listed each cookie that will be made for each week but in true Katie fashion, please do not hold this to me as things change with my moods daily...LOL. For all I know I may not feel like snickerdoodles on snickerdoodle day and instead throw together some peanut butter cookies...who knows, it's all a part of the fun!

Week One:

Festive Shortbread- Can you go wrong with shortbread?

Lemon Coolers- My sister Nikki loves lemon and this seemed really refreshing.

Double Chocolate Cookies by Eagle Brand- Double chocolate...enough said!

Week Two:

Dutch Apple Loaf- I have a bushel of apples coming my way, need recipes to use them up in.

Snickerdoodles- Simple and easy to make, what child doesn't love cinnamon and sugar combined?

Peppermint Cookies- Cookies with a nice little crunch.

Week Three:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies- The family favorite which I have never made all by myself.

Traditional Christmas Sugar Cookie- Because everyone needs to decorate cookies at least once during the season!!

Strawberry Bread- I love strawberries and who can resist a layer of cream cheese goodness in between layers?

I am still deciding if week one will start this week or if I will push it off until next Monday. If that is the case I will do my best to knock one recipe out this week that may or may not be listed above. That will also mean some additions for the week of Christmas. Here are a few more that I would like to include but we will see how far I get. I wanted to share them just in case they float your boat further than the items listed above!

Muddy Buddies- Something sweet to munch on without having to babysit the oven!

Holiday Tree Brownies- For those of us that don't necessarily have to bake from scratch to enjoy a good treat. I will save these for the cookie exchange since we all sit around and decorate then!

Holiday Thumbprints- These are most definitely going into rotation, it's a just matter of when.

I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew? My kitchen aid is definitaly going to get a workout this month and can I let you in on a little secret? I can't wait!!!!!

What are some of your favorite holiday baked goods that you find yourself making year after year? Feel free to share the links or the actual recipe so that everyone else can enjoy!

Here are some of the sites I stumbled upon the recipes at! For those of you with young children or who are young at heart like myself...whoever said Santa doesn't exist needs to be whipped, here is a great site to visit.

northpole.com
bettycrocker.com
allrecipes.com



glitter-graphics.com

Cheesecake Brownies

I posted a whole dramatic playback of what my last few days have been like because of these brownies but after realizing it was really sounding like a whine fest and looking as if my hubby was driving me crazy, I deleted it. That was totally not the point, I just thought it was funny and thought everyone might as well. Going to keep it short and sweet tonight, I am seven minutes away from bedtime...LOL.

Anyway, Daniel had a carry-in at work today and after having to ditch the mini pumpkin cheesecakes I had originally come up with I decided on these. I didn't get to try one however he called me this afternoon asking for the recipe because everyone at work wanted it. That would make one think they were really good and honestly, has anyone ever met a brownie they didn't like??

Cheesecake Brownies~

Ingredients:

• 1 (21.5 ounce) package brownie mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened (I omitted)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Prepare brownie mix according to the directions on the package. Spread into prepared baking pan.
3. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over brownie batter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Allow to cool, spread with frosting, and cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator, or freeze in a single layer for up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Butter Pecan Bars

We had our annual family Halloween gathering last weekend and I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, of course I didn't save the recipe in my recipe box and for the life of me I can't find it on the site again but luckily I made Daniel write it down for me. The family loved them and I can't wait to make them again. I just happened to be making my chicken alfredo casserole for my sister while creating these and Daniel commented that the house smelled like Thanksgiving.



Chocolate Butter Pecan Bars~

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. cold butter

Filling:
3 eggs
3/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. dark corn syrup ( I used light corn syrup)
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 C. semisweet chocolate chunks (I used chips)
1 1/2 C. coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:
1.) In a small bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Cut butter in until crumbly. Press into a 9x13 in. pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

2.) In a large bowl whisk eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chunks and pecans. Pour over crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes until set. Cool on a wire rack.

3.) Cut into bars and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Hope you give these a try, ENJOY!!!