Weekends!

This weekend I did what I have been doing most weekends lately...I made a cake. This time I did Spiderman. It was fun to do something different and that I have not done before. Even the flavors of the cake and filling were different from the norm ....Funfetti marbled cake (the marbling was an extra gesture to make it more "Spiderman" in the middle) and strawberry filling! The cake had BOY written all over it....I hope the birthday liked it. The cake was covered in buttercream, Spiderman was molded in fondant, the buildings were white chocolate, and the details and webs were royal icing. I had a great time making this cake. The picture is not the greatest..I need a new camera. I also added to the cake after I took the picture. I ended up putting buildings on the top of the cake for some more definition and more spider webs.

Toffee Bars

This is a recipe I tried this week out of our church cookbook. I think the friend that had submitted it said that she had never even made them.... I have had an eye on them for awhile now. They are made with a shortbread type crust and then filled with toffee and chocolate, so how could they not be good!

All said and done they will not go down on my favorites.....just not something extraordinary. I did make a bunch of modifications to the recipe...i just had to after figuring out in my head the calorie count. I used Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk (because that is all that I had), I also used half whole wheat pastry flour, I lessened the butter to 1/2 c. used only the egg white and used only 1/2 the chocolate chips and toffee the original recipe calls for. Maybe without these substitutions they would rank in the extraordinary? But for all the calories...I need it to be fantastic at first bite. I am posting the original recipe here. If you try it without the substitutions let me know how it is.

Recipe:

Toffee Bars:

2 1/3 c flour

2/3 c brown sugar

3/4 butter

1 egg

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 pkg chocolate chips

1 pkg toffee bits

Combine flour and sugar, cut in butter until crumbly like a pie crust. Add egg and mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Reserve 1 1/2 c. of this mixture. Press remaining mixture in a 9x13 inch greased pan and bake for 10 min. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crust, top with toffee bits and remaining chocolate chips. The top with the rest of crumb mixture. Bake for 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

The Bowling Cake

Here is another cake that I did for a little boys birthday. They were having the party at the bowling center. This was such a fun cake to do. The bowling ball was rice crispy treat. All edible of course. The cake was chocolate fudge with an Oreo cookies and cream filling.

The Old Standby

Oatmeal Cookie...my old standby whenever I am needing a little comfort, warm, gooeyness....but feeling like I need something with some kind of goodness. This is the Oatmeal Cookie recipe that is tried and true. They turn out warm and chewy on the inside and have just a little crunchy crispness on the edges. I got this recipe from a supermarket check-out stand recipe book. The little leaflet said COOKIES and BARS! so I could not pass it by. It turns out it was filled with some of my favorite treats to date...like Smore Bars, Toffee Crunch Bars, (recipes to come) and of course the standby Oatmeal Cookie.

The only modifications I made from the original are as follows:First I added about 1/2 the shortening called for, and I added 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup regular all-purpose (instead of straight all-purpose). I also only used the egg whites....why?because the yolk just give me the creeps...always has. Give them a try, I promise you will not be disappointed!

Oatmeal Cookies:

1/2 c butter

1/2 c shortening

2/3 c sugar

2/3 c brown sugar

2 eggs (I always use only whites)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

3 c old fashioned oatmeal

1 c raisins....okay so I made another modification......

I added about 1 c chocolate chips and 1 c butterscotch chips...I said they were comfort food!

No raisins for my cookie!

Blend sugars and butter/shortening until light and fluffy. Add eggs and continue to beat at med. speed for 3 min. Add the rest of the dry ingredients except oatmeal and mix. Add Oatmeal and chocolate chips and mix just until blended. Bake at 320 for 12 min. on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Yeah...Fall

I know I said I wouldn't let this turn into a log of my daily workouts...but can I just tell you that I had the BEST run of the year today! The reason why.....it was a mere 68 degrees! It felt heavenly...I even had to wear a long sleeved shirt. At the end of the 4 miles I was begging for more...but thought I had better not push it. Tomorrow I might try to sneak another neighborhood in there to extend it just a little. This being said I am thinking of everything fall....one of my very favorite fall treats is the EASIEST pumpkin cookies you will ever make.

Don't let it fool you though, easy sometimes is better...they are good!

These cookies are dense rather than cakey like the regular homemade version of pumpkin cookies. One year while pregnant with Ryan I literally begged..... on my hands and knees for my sister Jessica to come over and make these for me .. weekly...okay, daily (I was on bedrest for 5 months!) They just scream Fall to me.

Recipe:

1 box pumpkin quick bread mix (Pillsbury)

1/2 c butter (softened)

1 egg white

3/4 c chocolate chips (more or less to taste...you know my opinion!)

Mix all ingredients together, mixture will be crumbly at first but come together after a few min. Add chocolate chips last. Drop by spoonfuls and flatten slightly. Bake at 320 for 12 min. on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

The Purse Cake

I did bake Cinnamon Rolls this weekend...I am on a quiet quest for a good cinnamon roll recipe. So far I have not been thrilled with any that I have tried....it is probably just me. I am not going to post the recipe because they were not anything very impressive. I am however going to post another picture of a cake. This is a "make-up" party cake that I did last spring for a little girl turning 7. I loved the earring backs. The cake is covered in buttercream...(I like to cover all if the cakes in buttercream because they taste so much better) Fondant would be more"perfect" looking but it really is all about the taste right? The accent pieces are in fondant.

Ike

Hurricane Ike had everyone thinking we were in for a rough and wild Saturday. So much that they cancelled all of the girls games, and the kids spent the day indoors. All that we got out of it after all... was a drizzly and uneventful weekend. It was a good thing I had a cake and a cookies order to fill my time.

I made this cake for a friend whose son is leaving on his mission, she wanted 2 dozen cookies and a cake for the open house. He is going to California (which explains the sun cookies). The cake is a rich butter cheesecake flavor with a raspberry white chocolate filling. The white chocolate gives just a slight crunch in the middle when you bite into it...YUM!

She hasn't picked them up yet so I hope that she likes them.

Muffins

Okay, so really my family does eat very, very healthy...with treats on the side. Last night as I was lying down I realized that we had nothing at all to send in the kids lunch. I decided that waking up at 3 AM to make fresh bread was...well out, so I decided to wake at 6 and make them a hearty and healthy muffin.

The recipe I decided on was a Low fat, Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffin. With half of the flour %100 whole wheat and applesauce instead of most the oil I was impressed. The kids noticed a slight difference to the Pillsbury box mix they like, but said they were great. I did two variations, one with chopped walnuts and the other with dark chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Muffins:

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

2 egg whites

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

2/3 c applesauce

1/3 c oil

1 15oz can pumpkin

chocolate chips to taste (optional)

Mix all dry ingredients and set aside. Mix eggs, oil, applesauce and pumpkin until combined, add to dry ingredients and slowly mix just until combined. Add chocolate chips or walnuts if desired.

Bake in lined muffin pan for 20 min. at 350.

Birthday Firetruck

This is the last cake that I made. The cake was for a little boy turning 4 years old. His mom was taking the party to the fire station on a tour, and she requested a firetruck cake. It was so much fun to make! We added the Dalmatian dogs to match his invitations. Everything was edible.

Daddy had taken the kids to Six Flags...and it was 98 degrees outside...and $65.00 per person....and 98 degrees outside.... so I elected to stay home and yet again use my "alone" time to make a cake. The cake was Chocolate Fudge with a Cookies and Cream filling. I am electing not to post my cake and filling recipes on the site, however if you really desperately want them you can e-mail me. I promise something good to come this weekend though...It's one of the best things about a quiet Sunday afternoon...baking with the kiddo's.

The Cakes

So I have decided that I will start to post the pictures of my cakes. I love to decorate cakes....I crave a creative outlet, and I love to bake so really they go hand in hand. It was hard choosing one to start with. I ended up picking this wedding cake that I did. Each layer was customized in flavor and filling....everything from cheesecake mousse to chocolate toffee ganache. I skipped a family trip to Arkansas to make this cake...I was actually so excited to be home with only one daughter, we were going to have a "girls day out party" but low and behold, as it always does, the cake took over my life and before I could blink the crew was back....

Grade School Days

This recipe comes to you from my elementary school cafeteria! I grew up hating school lunch...except on peanut butter bar day (to bad they served fish sticks with it), they made the worlds best peanut butter bars! I have longed for them for ages, and about two years ago I came upon this recipe from an old church cook book. It was a happy day when I bit into these and found my childhood friend.

These bars are the perfect blend of peanut butter, chocolate and chocolate icing. When you bite into these little delights they are not cakey, but a little dense in texture...you then meet a small layer of semisweet chocolate which gives them a slight crunch...finally you sink into a mound of chocolate buttermilk frosting...they are not for the light at heart ...but hey with the oatmeal, and peanut butter they are practically a heath food right?

A few notes on the recipe, I double the frosting...for some this may be too much, I will give the doubled recipe. I would recommend making the double recipe, using what you want and saving the rest for another time. I like to keep my bars in the refrigerator, however I think they taste the best a room temp. So I always store in refrigerator and take out about an hour before I want to serve one...I mean them(okay, okay I eat them all myself!)

Peanut Butter Bars:

Cookie layer:

1/2 c butter (softened)

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/3 c sugar

1/2 brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c flour

1 c oatmeal ( I like old fashioned oats)

*2 handfuls (about 1/2 cup) chocolate chips

Mix butters and sugars until creamy, add egg and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, soda, and flour then mix until combined. Lastly add oatmeal and mix until just combined. Spread in a parchment lined 9x13 inch pan.

Bake 350 for 10 min.

Immediately from oven, sprinkle with a handful (or two) of your favorite chocolate chips. Let sit for 5 min. and then spread with knife. Set cookies aside or refrigerate until chocolate is set.

Frosting:(doubled version)

1/2 cup melted butter

2/3 c cocoa

2 pinches of salt

2 Tbsp. vanilla

6 to 8 Tbsp. buttermilk (can use regular milk ...but why?)

1 pkg. powdered sugar (about 6 cups)

Combine melted butter, cocoa and salt mix and slowly add vanilla, powdered sugar and buttermilk. Beat on medium high to high for about 3 min. or until light and fluffy...(you might have to add a little more sugar or buttermilk to get your perfect consistency).

Frost bars and enjoy!

Magic Cookie Bars

This is not a new recipe....I actually make them way to often! These are my favorite treat of all time, and I'm sure everyone has the recipe. It is the classic graham cracker, sweetened condensed milk version. I always buy the less fat grahams and less fat sweetened condensed milk (this way I can eat more) . The only things I have done different: I melt only 2 TB of butter in 9x9 inch pan....I then sprinkle a little sea salt. I also opted to withhold the nuts, and add mini M&M's. They are so yummy good. I like to eat them warm with a little tiny bit of frozen Cool Whip on top....heavenly!

I've learned how to post a picture!

Here is the picture of previous shared recipe for Chocolate Crunch Brownies!

Day one...here we go!

So no more excuses...the kids are all gone during the day, I have time on my hands, (for now) and I bake almost everyday. I am always so excited to share...even if its is only with pictures and recipes sometimes...that I have decided to start blogging. Yes, I am finally joining in the millions of legions of bloggers despite my computer tech...handicaps. (that's what my kids are here for right?) So today I am sharing with you a recipe for something sinfully chocolate and fun to eat....a little time consuming if you make the brownies from scratch, but worth it you will find.

Brownie Crunch Bars:

Brownie:
2/3 cup butter divided and melted
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 and 3/4 cups sugar
2 egg whites
1 and 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (not really needed but why not?)

Combine cocoa and soda in bowl, add boiling water and whisk until combined. Slowly add 1/3 cup melted butter and hand mix. Add sugar and egg whites and continue to stir until thoroughly combined. Add the rest of ingredients..chocolate chips lastly. Bake in a parchment pined 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 for 26 min.

Take Brownies out of oven and top evenly with miniature marshmallows, return to oven for an additional 6 min. or until marshmallows are perfectly toasted.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Topping (the Crunch Bar part!)

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 spoonfuls of peanut butter
3 to 4 cups rice krispies

Melt semi sweet chocolate chips, add 2 big spoonfuls of your favorite peanut butter (peter pan all the way for us!) and the rice krispies...mix until well blended. Spread "crunch bar" topping over brownies and refrigerate until cool and set.

These are rich...cut into small squares and ENJOY!