Pink Cake Mix Cookies

In keeping with my very busy schedule, I now present to you another super-quick and easy recipe:Cake Mix Cookies!

What could be cuter than pink cookies? These are made with a strawberry cake mix, but you can use any cake mix and add food coloring if you like. I also added white chocolate chips, which really made these cookies stand out. For the best taste, I usually go for butter flavored or yellow cake mix. This time I opted for strawberry to up the fun-factor. I have made this recipe countless times. I actually make more cookies from cake mixes than I do cakes! They may not be the prettiest looking baked good but they are really really tasty. Oh yeah, added bonus: they are the chewy type of cookie too!

Cake Mix Cookies
Makes 24 | Adapted from Food.com

1 (18.25 oz) cake mix (any flavor)
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk (evaporated milk if you have it)
1 cup chocolate/white chocolate chips (optional)
food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl mix cake mix, butter, egg and milk. Shape dough in a ball. Chill for 2 hours. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut out with a floured cookie cutters. Place 2" apart on a cookie sheet that has been very lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees F for 6-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

I am so sorry I haven't updated for almost a month! Life has been going way too fast for me. It's MAY already! Exactly 7 months until the wedding and I feel like there is so much stuff left to do. Mainly the details like the menu and the invitations and centerpieces and flowers. Just the kinds of things I do NOT like doing. I'm more of a big picture kind of girl. When it comes down to the details I'm just glad there are people like my sister and my future mother in law to help me out :)



I have not even been able to do much baking lately. The closest I got was making these no-bake peanut butter pretzel truffles. Much like cake balls, you just crush the pretzels, mix with peanut butter, shape into balls and cover with chocolate. mmm!!! Maybe I could make a (cuter) version of these for the wedding! Then again, witih all the peanut allergies I might want to stay away from nuts, lol.

We are going to do an early afternoon ceremony with an afternoon champagne and hors d'oeuvres reception immediately after. Anyone have any ideas for easy foods we could serve? We are going to do a dessert table (of course!). I just hope I have enough time to do the baking without getting too stressed out close to the wedding date.

Peanut Butter-Pretzel Truffles
Makes 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups pretzel pieces
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

1. Put the pretzel pieces into a resealable plastic bag and crush into very small bits (a rolling pin works great for this or a food processor).

2. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all of the ingredients are completely blended and smooth. Add the pretzel bits to the peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.

3. Line a small baking sheet with wax paper. Using a small cookie scoop, or about 2 teaspoons worth of peanut butter mixture, gently shape into a ball with your fingertips. Place the ball on the wax paper-lined cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining peanut butter mixture. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

4. When ready to dip the truffles, microwave the chocolate chips and vegetable shortening together in a small bowl at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted and smooth.

5. Working one at a time, dip one peanut butter-pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and use a fork to roll it around, ensuring that it is completely coated with chocolate. Let any extra chocolate drip off and place back on the wax paper-lined sheet. Repeat with all of the peanut butter-pretzel balls.

6. Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator and again chill for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with a drizzle of melted chocolate, if desired. Store airtight in the refrigerator.

Rustic Pear Tart

In his attempt to eat more healthfully, my dear fiance bought a big bag of pears from Costco. I commend him for his effort but 2 weeks later the bag was still over 1/2 full and the pears were rapidly ripening. I started searching for a recipe to use up the delicious pears and came across this easy, pretty pear tart.



I love the simplicity of the rustic style. No pie plates needed. No crimping of the edges. Just a flat baking tray and a rolling pin. This pie showcased the pears perfectly. It let their natural sweetness shine through.



Rustic Pear Tart
10" Round | Ellie Krieger, Food Network

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
3 medium pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon boiling water


To prepare the crust, in a medium bowl whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, all- purpose flour, granulated sugar and salt. Add the butter and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you get a pebbly, course texture. In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and ice water. Using a fork, gradually mix the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Pat the dough into a 4-inch round and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and prepare the filling. Peel the pears, core them and cut into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon and toss until the pears are evenly coated. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a large circle about nine inches in diameter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draping the dough over the rolling pin, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. If the dough breaks at all patch it up with your fingers.

Arrange the pears in a mound in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the pears partially and does not need to be even.

Bake the tart for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the tart in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.

In a small bowl stir together the honey and boiling water to make a glaze. When the tart is done remove it from the oven and brush the honey glaze all over the top of the fruit and crust. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly.

Nutella Cheesecake Brownies

Exactly 1 year ago today my life changed. On March 31, 2011 I walked into the bank to apply for a Visa card and unexpectedly met my future husband. He was the personal banker helping me with my Visa application. I knew right away - sitting across from him at the desk - that there was something special between us. That day I got so much more than I ever could have imagined. He is now my fiancé and I am the happiest girl in the world.

This triple-threat dessert is just the thing to celebrate with. He loves Nutella, I love Cheesecake. Who doesn't love brownies!? Happy 1 year to Banker Boy and Canada Girl!





Nutella Cheesecake Brownies
9" square pan

Brownie Layer
1/2 cup melted butter, allow to cool
1/2 cup Nutella
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa

Cheesecake Layer
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup hazelnuts skinned, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 9" square pan. Mix together the wet ingredients for the brownie until well combined. You can just used a wooden spoon.

2. Mix in the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Spread brownie mixture evenly in prepared tin. Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth, light and fluffy. Add the eggs gradually until well incorporated and the mixture is smooth and fluffy again.

3. Gently mix in the flour until well combined, but don't over beat at this point. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the brownie mixture and spread evenly on top. Drop spoonfuls of Nutella over the cheesecake layer then marble gently by drawing a knife through the top layer. Sprinkle hazelnuts on top.

4. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Lemon Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

So lemony and so tangy. You could serve this loaf without any frosting and it would still be delicious, but take my word for it - it is to die for when topped with cream cheese frosting.

The frosting recipe below is the best cream cheese frosting recipe I have ever tried. It has the perfect ratio of cream cheese to sugar and complements the tartness of the loaf. There is definitely no skimping on cream cheese here! If you're like my mom, you will eat this with extra frosting so it's pretty much equal parts cake and frosting :)



Lemon Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 1 loaf

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
Zest of 2 lemon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
1/2 pkg (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

2. Whisk the flour, salt, sugar, lemon peel and baking powder together in a large bowl; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl beat eggs with milk, butter, lemon juice and vanilla. Add egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

4. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.

5. Frosting: Combine the butter and cream cheese with an electric beater until smooth. Add vanilla then add the powdered sugar to reach desired consistency. Frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting once cooled fully.

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

March 6, 2012 was OREO's 100th Birthday!!! I actually made these for that day but forgot to post until now. Oops!



Did you know that when Oreos were first launched in New York in 1912 there were 2 flavors: Original and Lemon Cream. They are made by Kraft Foods (USA) and the Christie Brand (Canada). Over the past 100 years they have experimented with many other flavors including Strawberry Milkshake (Canada), Green Tea (China/Japan), Blueberry Ice Cream (Indonesia/Malaysia), Cool Mint, Banana Split (2008), Sugar Free, Reduced Fat and Cakesters (2007) just to name a few.

Personally, I prefer the chocolate cookies sans filling or the Vanilla Oreo variety. Since I don't like the filling, I twist mine open and scrape out the filling and save it for use in another recipe. When melted, it makes a great drizzle for brownies!

According to Kraft, women are more likely to twist open their Oreos than men! Check out the Oreo Timeline for more interesting facts!



To celebrate, I made mini Oreo Cheesecakes from Martha Stewart's "Cupcakes" book. Instead of crushed cookie crumbs, these feature a whole Oreo cookie placed in the bottom of each cupcake liner, topped with cream cheese filling and baked.

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
Makes 30

42 Oreo sandwich cookies, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
3 1/2 (8oz each) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line 30 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined muffin cup.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add in sour cream and salt, beat to combine. Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreo cookies. Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top.

4. Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes. Transfer the muffins tins to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from tins just before serving.

Awesome Apple Cake

I wasn't surprised when I was asked by several people for the recipe for this cake after I brought it to work. This is one of my favorite apple cakes! The recipe uses a generous amount of apples, making this cake incredibly moist and a good keeper. I love the slightly chewy, dark golden brown crust. Baked in a tube pan, it stands statuesque and proud.



Do not substitute a Bundt pan! This is not a cake you want to invert after baking. If you don't have a tube pan (with removable bottom), you could use a spring form 10" pan or bake it as a 9" x 13" cake, however, they will not be as tall. If you don't have pineapple juice, you can substitute orange juice.



Awesome Apple Cake
Makes 1 tube pan | adapted from Smitten Kitchen

5-6 tart apples (I like granny smiths)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional - I didn't use them)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

2. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

3. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

Starbucks Copycat Vanilla Scones

You might be able to see from the photo that these scones were very flaky with many many layers. They seemed like a cross between a scone and a croissant. I skipped the glaze on these and they were still fantastic. However, for the real Starbucks experience, go for the glaze.

Starbucks also sells a mini version of these. If you want to make those, divide the dough into thirds before rolling out and cutting, then cut each round into smaller triangles and bake, keeping an eye on baking time. They will probably require a few minutes less than the full-sized scones.



Starbucks Copycat Vanilla Scones
Makes 8

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp very cold butter (frozen is best)

1 cup regular sour cream
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
water as needed to achieve desired consistency

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Use the “Grating Method” to add the butter: Grate a block of cold butter against the large holes of a box grater. Toss the butter ribbons with the flour mixture, and then use two knives to cut the flour-coated ribbons into 1/4-inch pieces.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk and vanilla extract until blended. Add this to the flour-butter mixture and stir with a fork until dough forms a cohesive ball. Use a spatula to get the dry bits fully incorporated. It may not seem to have enough liquid at first, but the dough will eventually come together.

3. Place the sticky dough onto an ungreased baking sheet and pat into a disk about 1-inch in height. Cut the dough into wedges and place on the baking sheet.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

5. Prepare glaze while scones are baking. Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and add water one teaspoon at a time, mixing vigorously until smooth and runny. Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of glaze over the hot scones. Tip: Brushing rather than drizzling gives a smoother appearance and requires less glaze. Store cooled scones in an airtight container.

Pretzel Kisses

These pretty little pretzel kisses are so easy to make and so yummy. The pretzels have just enough salt in them to make these pop. I especially like the ones made with the white chocolate "Hugs". I think they look so adorable with their stark stripes.

What I like best about this recipe is that it can be customized for any occasion with the color of M&M's you use. Pink, red and white for Valentine's day. Pastels for Easter, etc. I got a whole bunch of Hershey's Kisses for valentine's day so this was a great way to use them up.

Pretzel Kisses
Makes 24

24 square pretzels
24 milk chocolate candy kisses
1 (1.69 oz) pkg. M & M's

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place pretzels on baking sheets. Unwrap candy kisses and place one in the center of each pretzel.

3. Place in preheated oven 1 to 2 minutes, until kisses melt. Remove from oven and place one candy-coated chocolate in the center of each pretzel. Chill in refrigerator until set.

Baked Bars

The last weekend was so relaxing. We spent it at my future parents in law's place discussing wedding themes, colors and centerpieces. It was a lot of fun looking at wedding blogs and on pinterest. I also feel a lot better now having made some decisions about what direction we want to go with decorations.



Ok, now let's talk about these yummy bars! Sweetened condensed milk is an amazing and vesatile ingredient. I love it in all forms: straight out of the can or caramellized into dulce de leche or baked into a gooey topping like in these bars from the "Baked" cookbook by the guys from the famous NYC Bakery: "Baked". They are so good that they are even named after the bakery itself!

Cut these bars into small squares as they are extremely rich and so so good. When I brought these to work the entire tray disappeared almost as soon as it was wet out.



"Baked" Bars
9x13 inch pan | "Baked"

Crust
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
2 1/2 cups ground graham cracker crumbs (about 20 crackers)
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 1/3 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
1 1/2 cup (9 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
2 cans (8 oz each) sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13" baking pan. Line with Parchment.

2. In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and toasted coconut. Add the melted butter. Combine the mixture, then turn it out into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the crust into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to create a perfectly even crust.

3. Refrigerate the crust for 15 minutes, then bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool completely.

4. To make the filling, increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Evenly spread the walnuts onto the bottom of the crust. Spread the chocolate chips over the walnuts, followed by the white chocolate, followed by the butterscotch chips.

6.In a steady stream, pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the filling. Shake the pan very gently to make sure the sweetened condensed milk is evenly distributed.

7.Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan every 10 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.