Puppy Chow

Here is the famous puppy chow recipe! I know people think it's just muddy buddies, but there are a few small changes that make a big difference in this recipe.

6-8 c. Crispix cereal (NOT Chex)

1 stick butter

1 c. peanut butter

1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

3-4 c. powdered sugar (plus more as needed)

Melt together butter and peanut butter and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and heat until mixture is glossy (you can do this in the microwave or on the stove). Pour cereal into a large bowl and add chocolate mixture. Stir gently to coat, trying not to crush cereal. Add additional cereal if it appears to be too heavily coated. In a plastic grocery bag (I double or triple layer mine to prevent a mess), put powdered sugar and then dump in chocolate-covered cereal. Twist bags to close and shake well (this works best if you also close air in the bags so the cereal can move more freely). After shaking for 1-2 minutes, check cereal. If it's stuck together in clumps, break them up and add more powdered sugar and shake again. Continue until most of the cereal is separated into individual pieces, as pictured above. Enjoy!

Nutrient-Packed Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

These cookies aren't very photogenic, but they are delicious enough to make up for their less-than-attractive appearance. We went on an early-morning "hike" (in Texas that means a walk around a park on a wooded trail), and took these with us. They are perfect for hikes, camping, or just a quick breakfast to keep in the freezer.

Recipe adapted from MOMables

1/2 c. mashed banana (about 1 large)

1/2 c. peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/2 c. honey

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. quick oats

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. ground flax seed

1/4 c. powdered milk

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. banking soda

1/2 c. raisins or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together banana, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Add oats, flour, ground flax seed, powdered milk, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir until just combined. Stir in raisins/chocolate chips. Spoon onto a greased cookie sheet and cook for 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 12 cookies.

Nutella Caramel Layer Cake

This is the cake I made for Father's Day. I tweaked a few things from the original recipe to make it more affordable, but in the end I doubt there was a highly noticeable difference. It was absolutely delicious! I thought for sure the cookies around the edge would get soggy in our Houston humidity and with the frosting and caramel inside, but they stayed crisp for days. It's a great cake for beginners because the cookies around the edge help keep everything together so if your layers aren't perfect they won't slide around, and the rosettes on top are so easy and also cover any flaws underneath. As a long-time Nutella lover, this cake scored big points in my book!

Recipe adapted from Rebecca's Sweet Escapes

I used my standard chocolate cake recipe for the layers:

Cake:

Mix together:

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup water

Pour over the flour mixture and add:

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and pour batter into two 8-inch round pans lined on the bottom with parchment paper, greased on the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Caramel Filling:

1 pkg. Kraft caramels

1/4 c. evaporated milk

Melt together in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly before using.

Nutella Frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 c. Nutella (I used the Kroger brand substitute--it's almost identical in taste and much cheaper!)

5 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

evaporated milk

Combine all ingredients and whip until creamy. Add in evaporated milk until it is a good frosting consistency.

To Assemble:

Place one cake on a plate and pipe a wide border around the edge of the top to hold the caramel in. The border should be about an inch thick and about 1/2 inch tall. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow frosting to harden, which will create a more sure wall to hold in the caramel. Pour/spread caramel on top of your cake, within the border you created. (If the caramel has cooled down a little bit so it is barely spreadable, it will stay in place better). Place second cake on top and cover entire cake with a thin layer of frosting. Pipe a thin border around the bottom of the cake and insert pirouette cookies (cut to size) around border, pressing into the cake (I used 3 tins of pirouline cookies from Dollar Tree--still wonderful, and again, much cheaper!). Secure with another border of frosting around the bottom when cookies are in place. To create rosettes on top, use a large star tip and pipe spirals all over the surface of the cake.

Raw Fruit Pie

This pie is so delicious--and the best part is that you can feel great eating it because there are no added sugars! My friend made this a few months ago and I LOVED it. But unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. So I'm posting this so that Kaitlyn can make it and post a picture. :)

[Picture here]

Crust:

Add 2:1 ratio of walnuts and dates in food processor, and a dash of salt if you desire. (If the crust isn't sticky enough add a few more dates.) Press the crust into a pie pan (a tart pan with a removable bottom works best).

Filling:

Add 1:1 ratio of frozen (semi thawed) banana and chunks of mango. Use ripe fruit if possible (it tastes better). Pour into pie pan; freeze. Let it sit out for several minutes to thaw a little before eating.

This is great with mango and banana but would also be great with lots of fruits (I'm thinking blueberries and mango--yum! Or raspberries and blueberries--you could layer it for a cute 4th of July look).

Have fun with it! And let us know what combinations you try!

Pudding on the Rice

Remember Pudding on the Rice? That eclectic little place just off I-15 on University Parkway in Orem? They had the most incredible concoctions available that they called rice pudding, but really were unlike any other rice pudding I had tried! Their amazingly creamy, cold, almost-like-ice-cream desserts in a huge variety of flavors were so fun! 

I'm sad to say that a few years ago the owners moved to Portland, which meant the restaurant did as well. (Not that I could have taken advantage of it anyway, seeing as how Houston isn't exactly close to Orem...) But I was excited to find a recipe online from Studio 5 that the owner herself submitted. Then I found another recipe, quite a bit different, that also seemed to be from the owner. So I tried them both to see which was the rice pudding I remembered. The first seemed far more fluffy than I had experienced in the past, and the second wasn't what I remembered at all. So I tweaked the first recipe just a tiny bit (I used only half of the cream it called for) and then, in my opinion, it was perfect. Below is my adaptation.

4 cups whole milk
2 cups cooked white rice
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large sauce pan, mix together milk, rice, sugar, and salt. In a seperate bowl crack the egg and let sit at room temperature. Stir mixture in saucepan slowly with a flat wooden spoon at medium heat for 45-60 minutes until the mixture has evenly thickened (I didn't stir continually).

Take pan off heat. Take the room temperature egg and whisk it thoroughly, adding a tablespoon at a time of the hot pudding to tempur the eggs. When you have added equal amounts of pudding to the eggs, slowly incorporate the eggs back into the pudding. Return the pudding to medium heat and slowly stir as you bring the pudding back to a boil.

Take pudding off heat, put in a seperate bowl, cover with saran wrap, and cool in refrigerator for 6-24 hours.

After pudding has cooled, whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 tsp. vanilla. Gently fold whipped cream into the pudding until it is fully enveloped. Keep pudding refrigerated for up to 1 week.



Additional Flavor Ideas
Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Pudding (pictured)--mix melted chocolate chips into pudding before adding whipped cream. Stir in peanut butter chips, and fold in whipped cream.

Raspberry Rice Pudding--Add frozen raspberries and mix into the pudding before folding in whipped cream.

Lemon Poppyseed Rice Pudding--Stir in lemon curd and poppyseeds before folding in whipped cream.

Strawberries 'n Cream Rice Pudding (pictured)--Stir in strawberry jam before folding in whipped cream.

Cookies 'n Cream Rice Pudding--Stir in Oreo crumbs before folding in whipped cream.

Traditional Cinnamon Rice Pudding (pictured)--Stir in cinnamon before folding in whipped cream.



Our favorite that we've tried is the chocolate peanut butter. I also loved the lemon poppyseed and just the plain ol' vanilla mixture. I'd love to hear your flavor ideas as well! Jessica (the owner) says you can put pretty much anything in that you might find in ice cream, as long as it won't break down the dairy ingredients.

Sweet Tooth Fairy Black & White Cupcakes

I had heard about The Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcake shops here and there, but I had never understood the hype until Mom treated me to a cupcake while I was in Utah. And let me tell you, her cupcakes are no ordinary cupcakes! Moist, dense, chewy, with the most amazing frosting slathered on top and incredible flavor combinations...she has changed me from a cupcake-tolerator to a cupcake-lover. I remembered seeing an article about her in BYU Magazine and thought it included a recipe, so I looked it up when I got back from Utah. And here it is!

Oh, and by the way...that frosting is amazing. I was also making Oreo cupcakes for a piano recital a while back and used this frosting with Oreo crumbs folded in--it was the perfect cookies 'n cream frosting.

Don't have a kitchen scale? Here is a calculator for converting.

Black and White Chocolate Cupcakes

8 ounces all-purpose flour

7 ounces granulated sugar

4 ounces dark chocolate cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4 ounces sour cream

3 eggs, beaten

6 ounces chocolate pudding, prepared

4 ounces butter, melted

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake pan cups with paper liners (or not--I didn't when I made them and they came out beautifully!).

In a large bowl, measure the dry ingredients and mix together with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds until well combined.

Add wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and resume mixing on medium speed for 1 additional minute. Stop mixer and fold in chocolate chips.

Fill prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely.

White Chocolate Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 ounces butter, softened

6 ounces white chocolate, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

10 ounces powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix for an additional 1 minute. Add powdered sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy after each addition.

Frost cupcakes with frosting and garnish with sprinkles, fresh raspberries, mini chocolate chips, or whatever else you choose.

Samoa Girl Scout Cookie Layer Cake

Once upon a time, a year or two ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for homemade samoa girl scout cookies. They looked incredible, so I bookmarked the page and have occasionally dreamt of making them. Finally, with Sam's birthday, the opportunity presented itself. I decided to mesh the cookies and his birthday cake! And it was pretty amazing. It's kind of a labor of love, but if you have a few hours to spend in the kitchen, I definitely suggest giving this one a try!

I made two chocolate cakes, two samoa cookies the same size as the cakes, smaller cookies for the top, and caramel buttercream frosting. Then I layered them all together and drizzled caramel sauce on top and pressed toasted coconut on the sides to complete it. Now I'm just working on handing out the leftovers. That much cake is dangerous for a pregnant lady to have on hand!

Chocolate Cake

Mix together:

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup water

Pour over the flour mixture and add:

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and pour batter into two 8-inch round pans lined on the bottom with parchment paper, greased on the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the frosting:

(Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats)

2 sticks butter, slightly softened

1 lb. powdered sugar, plus more as needed

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. caramel sauce (I used this homemade caramel, but you can use store bought)

pinch of kosher salt

2 Tbsp. evaporated milk

Whip together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in remaining ingredients (make sure caramel sauce is not warm enough to melt butter). Add powdered sugar as needed to make frosting a good consistency.

For the cookies:

(Recipe adapted from Once Upon a Plate)

Shortbread Layer

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

up to 2 Tbsp. milk

Cream together butter and sugar. Add flour, baking powder, and salt at a low speed. Add vanilla and milk, adding only enough milk to make dough stick together well (you may not need any at all). The dough should not be overly sticky.

Press a layer about 1/4 inch thick into the bottom of 2 well-greased 8-inch round pans. You can cut a hole in the middle if desired, but since it will be covered it isn't necessary. Bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes until edges are golden. Allow to cool 5 minutes in pan and remove from pans and set aside.

With the remainder of the dough, roll out and cut out smaller cookies about 1/4 inch thick. I cut them out using the lid of the non-stick cooking spray and cut out the middles using the large end of a frosting tip. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes until edges are golden.

Caramel Topping

3 cups shredded coconut

12 ounces caramels

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. milk

Toast coconut by spreading on a baking sheet and baking at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or until coconut is golden, stirring every 5 minutes. Watch coconut frequently at the end, as it toasts quickly! Note: you should toast 4 cups of coconut and reserve 1 cup for decorating the cake.

Melt together caramels, salt, and milk in the microwave by cooking on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until smooth. Fold in 3 cups toasted coconut.

To assemble:

Melt 2 c. chocolate chips in the microwave and spread on the bottoms of the small and 8-inch cookies, reserving about 1/2 c. for drizzling. Allow to harden in the fridge. Flip cookies over and top with the warm caramel mixture. I found this easiest to do by smearing it on with wet fingers. Just dip your fingers in water as needed to prevent mixture from sticking. If mixture is too firm, microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. Put remaining melted chocolate in a plastic ziploc bag, snip off a tiny corner, and drizzle over cookies. Allow to harden in the fridge.

To assemble cake:

Place one 8-inch samoa cookie on a cake plate. Top with a thin layer of frosting and set one cake on top. Top with another thin layer of frosting, set the other 8-inch samoa cookie on top of frosting, and top with one more thin layer of frosting. Place other cake on top. Cover the entire cake with frosting, press reserved 1 c. toasted coconut onto the sides, drizzle caramel sauce on top, and finally top with smaller samoa cookies.

Lastly, ignore the fact that your finished cake has 7 sticks of butter in it and enjoy. :)

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm going to give a disclaimer right up front that although these cookies are delicious, I don't think they taste as good as regular peanut butter cookies. BUT, I like these cookies for several reasons: 1) they are super kid-friendly to make, 2) they are a great treat to make if you need to go gluten-free for someone, and 3) the idea is just so novel! They have a nice, pure peanut butter taste with a slightly gritty texture (from the sugar) and a very dense consistency. Basically, they're just pure, sweetened peanut butter. My peanut butter crazy family loves them!

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

Combine and roll into balls. Press criss-cross style with a fork and bake at 350 degrees for 10-14 minutes.

Mile High Twix Brownie Torte

This, my friends, is the cake I made for my birthday. And to be quite honest, it was a bit...much. Somehow I kept eating it, but every time I did I left with a stomach ache! But I think with some adaptations it would be amazing without being overkill! So I'm posting this recipe anyway. :)

We have two layers of brownies, two layers of caramel, a layer of shortbread cookie, chocolate frosting on the outside, and Twix candy bars on top. Sheesh! No wonder we had stomach aches.

Brownie Layers

2 brownie mixes+ingredients called for on boxes (Sorry, but I've yet to find a from-scratch brownie recipe that I like as well as the mixes. This is purely about taste!)

Prepare brownie batter according to directions on box. Bake each mix seperately in an 8-9 inch round pan with the bottom lined with parchment paper and the sides lightly greased.

Caramel Layers

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 stick butter

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

Combine ingredients in medium saucepan and cook to firm soft ball stage. Cool to a bit warmer than room temperature so it is still easily moldable but easy to handle.

Shortbread Layer (original recipe from Once Upon a Plate)

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1 c. flour

1/8 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla

up to 1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt at a low speed. Add the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being stick (you may not need any at all) The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.

Press dough into the same pan used to cook the brownies, again lining with parchment paper and spraying sides with nonstick cooking spray. Here's where I would make a change: I had twice as much dough as the recipe above and I made a pretty thick layer. If I were making this again, I would probably make the shortbread layer no more than 1/2 inch thick. Bake until top is light golden brown.

Frosting Layer (original recipe from Our Best Bites)

(this is my go-to chocolate frosting recipe)

2/3 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. flour

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 c. milk

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. chocolate chips, melted

Melt chocolate chips and set aside to cool. In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa ,and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1-3 minutes or until thickened like a thinned pudding. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in refrigerator or freezer. When chocolate flour mixture is cooled, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined and fluffy, about 1 minute. Finally, add in melted chocolate and beat again until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, add additional cocoa powder to taste.

To Assemble

Place one brownie round on plate or cake stand. Spread a thin layer of caramel over brownies (thinner than I did below). Top with shortbread layer and spread another thin layer of caramel on top of shortbread. Place second brownie layer on top of caramel. Cover outside with chocolate frosting and top with roughly chopped Twix candy bars.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

Basically these lemon bars are one of the most amazing desserts ever. I seldom make them because I can't seem to stay away from them! The filling in and of itself is a delicious treat. Mom likes to double the filling, which makes for an even more decadent dessert. Enjoy!


Original recipe from The Pioneer Woman

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 stick butter, slightly softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine. Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8x11 pan.

Mix together sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don't press. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate until cool.

Honey Cake

Please, no one have a heart attack. I figured it was time to let all of you know that I actually do know how to cook, and now that I have a kitchen with a working stove and oven (and I'm no longer crouching by my refrigerator eating cheese with my hands and drinking milk out of the carton like a barbarian), I should post some recipes.

A couple of weeks ago I had an international desserts party, and since it happened to fall on the same day/night as the first day/night of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, I decided to make a traditional Jewish dessert that I had last year while celebrating Rosh Hashanah in Israel. Jews eat a lot of honey-sweetened things to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing the sweetness of the new year. But the great thing about this honey cake is it's just sweet enough to feel like a dessert but not too sweet for breakfast the next morning (especially if you aren't averse to eating such cakey things as banana bread and the like for breakfast).

The original recipe is from here, although I modified it a little.

2 Tbsp. honey dissolved into 3/4 cup hot water

3 eggs

3 Tbsp. oil

3/4 cup apple sauce

3/4 cup honey

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1. Dissolve honey into water. Cool.
2. Mix eggs, oil, apple sauce, honey and brown sugar in a using an electric mixer. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt).
4. Alternating, add flour mixture and honey water to the egg mixture in the bowl. Mix lightly until just smooth. 
5. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes.

(In case you're wondering why there is that odd step of dissolving honey into water, it's because the original recipe called for coffee. I tried substituting honey and it worked out well. But feel free to experiment with other liquidy things if you prefer.)

Strawberry Lemonade Mini Cheesecakes

I recently made these for a piano recital and they were a hit! Miniature cheesecakes with tangy lemon curd, sweet strawberry sauce, and fresh strawberries are essentially summer in a cupcake liner. :)

Lemon Curd recipe from Allrecipes

Strawberry Sauce recipe from Our Best Bites

For the cheesecakes:

24 Nilla wafers

2 8 oz. pkgs Philadelphia cream cheese

3/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla. Place 24 Nilla wafers in cupcake liners placed in muffin tins and fill about 2/3 full with cheesecake mixture. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, until tops are beginning to brown and toothpick comes out clean.

For the lemon curd:

3 eggs
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel


Combine ingredients and cook in the microwave for one minute intervals until it coats the back of a spoon.


For the strawberry sauce:


1 pint strawberries
1/3 c. white sugar
1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract


Combine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, breaking up and mashing strawberries constantly. Allow sauce to cool slightly, then put it in the blender and blend until smooth.


To assemble:


After cheesecakes have cooled, top with a dollop of lemon curd, several slices of fresh strawberries, and a drizzle of strawberry sauce. Store in the fridge.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake

Sam's birthday was on the 26th, and something I always look forward to is making his cake. We don't make cake much around here--there is always that issue of what to do with leftovers. Giving someone a plate of cookies or brownies somehow seems so much more socially acceptable than giving someone a plate of leftover birthday cake...

So I love dreaming up a fun cake combination for his birthday. I made these cupcakes for a recent piano recital, so they inspired me to make this cake. I used the same chocolate cake base for the 3rd year in a row--it's so good I can't seem to bring myself to try something else. Sam and I aren't huge cake fans, so this dense, moist cake is perfect for us.

After baking, allowing to cool, and leveling the cakes, whip up the amazing egg-less cookie dough filling (seriously, I love it even more than regular cookie dough) and sandwich a hefty layer between your two cakes. I used parchment paper this time to line my pan instead of just greasing and flouring, and that made a HUGE difference. I definitely suggest using it to prevent broken cakes!

Coat the cake with a thin layer of cookie dough flavored frosting and chill for at least 20 minutes.

To decorate, I used the "cloud cake" frosting technique. Simply pipe 3 large circles of frosting in a vertical line and smear them with the back of a spoon. Then repeat, overlapping each of the smears.

I did the top in a spiral pattern from the outside in. When you get to the end, you can shape the last blobs of frosting with your fingers so you don't have a messy seam.

Then decorate as desired! I made a chocolate chip border around the edge.

It was cute as-is, but I wanted to give it something a little extra.

So I whipped up some little chocolate chip cookies and stuck those in the frosting as well.

Yum! The birthday boy loved it!

Recipe inspired by and adapted from Annie's Eats

For the cake...

Mix together:

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup water

Pour over the flour mixture and add:

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and pour batter into two 8-inch round pans lined on the bottom with parchment paper, greased on the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the filling...

1 stick butter, slightly softened

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 1/4 c. flour

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. chocolate chips (full size or mini)

Combine butter and sugar in a mixer and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips.

For the frosting...

2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 1/3 c. powdered sugar

2/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Beat together butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and stir until well incorporated. Add flour and salt, then milk and vanilla. Add milk as needed to create a good frosting consistency.

For garnish...

chocolate chips (full size or mini)

small chocolate chip cookies

To assemble...

Level cakes with a serrated knife. Top one cake with a thick layer of cookie dough filling (you may not use quite all of it). Top cookie dough filling with the second cake. Cover entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Pipe 3 large circles in a verticle line up the side of the cake and smear them with the back of a spoon, then repeat, overlapping the smears each time until the cake is covered. Decorate as desired with chocolate chips and mini chocolate chip cookies.

S'mores Monkey Loaf

(picture and original recipe from here)

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Here's a fun, easy treat. It's fun to eat, and fun to make - great for toddlers to help with!

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Ingredients:

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1 loaf frozen Rhodes bread dough (thaw in fridge for a few hours)

1 cup mini chocolate chips

5 whole graham crackers

5 oz unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup brown sugar

8 oz (weight) mini marshmallows

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Directions:

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Slice the bread into 1/2-3/4 inch slices. Then cut each slice into about four pieces. Sprinkle chocolate chips on the pieces and push them into the dough (you can even fold the dough over onto the chips like little pockets).

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Crush the graham crackers to fine crumbs and roll the pieces of dough to coat them with crumbs (this is the fun part for the kids). Put the pieces in a well-greased loaf pan.

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Melt 4 tbsp butter and the brown sugar in a small saucepan until smooth and golden-brown. Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the dough pieces. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

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When the loaf is done, let cool slightly in the pan, then carefully dump onto a plate. While it's cooling, melt the remaining 1 tbsp butter and the marshmallows in a large saucepan. Pour the marshmallow cream over the loaf on the plate, let cool slightly, then dig in!

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Notes:

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I'm sure you could make this with homemade dough - just figure out at what point in the raising process to punch it down and form it into a loaf. You may want to chill it to make it easier to cut and work with.

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You can also double the recipe and put it in a bundt pan (like the picture) for a more traditional-style monkey bread. Mine looked absolutely nothing like the picture - it all fell apart as it was coming out of the pan, and I don't even own a bundt pan - but it was still yummy!

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Also, if you slightly burn the marshmallow cream, your finished product will taste very much like a s'more charred over the campfire, though I don't recommend this method. ;)

Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream Pie

I have been looking for an excuse to make this pie ever since I stumbled across it months ago. So when Sam's mom and brother were in town, I decided the time had come and took the plunge. And let me tell you, this pie is amazing!!! Words really don't do it justice. You'll simply have to try it for yourself.

Recipe adapted from Kevin & Amanda and Allrecipes.com

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos

6 Tbsp. melted butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 cup butter

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3 cups sugar

1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Finely crush 2/3 of the package of Oreos, combine with the melted butter, and press into the bottom of a 10-inch or larger round pan. Freeze for at least 10 minutes.

While the crust freezes, make the hot fudge. Whisk together evaporated milk and cocoa. Strain into a large saucepan to remove cocoa lumps. Add 1 c. butter and 3 c. sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Combine sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, and then gently fold in whipped cream. Spread half of cream mixture over frozen crust. Top with a layer of the hot fudge. Spread remaining cream mixture over hot fudge, drizzle some hot fudge on top (you will probably only use about half of it), and finally top with remaining Oreos, roughly crushed. Freeze for at least 6-8 hours before serving.

Salted Caramel Brownies

Cake mixes are cheap and convenient, but not all that tasty, right? This recipe is a good way to use a cake mix. I wish the picture did a better job showing just how amazingly gooey that middle layer of caramel is, and the salt in it adds just the right zing to make the flavors more complex.

Adapted from this and this recipe by The Pioneer Woman

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 c. chocolate chips

1/3 c. half and half

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c. half and half

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tsp. salt

Combine cake mix, chocolate chips, 1/3 c. half and half, and 1/2 c. melted butter in a mixing bowl. Press half the mixture into a greased square baking pan and bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350.

Warm 1/2 c. half and half in a small saucepan. In a seperate tall saucepan, dump water and sugar but do not stir (make sugar evenly distributed in water so it is all wet). Place over medium heat and wait without stirring until mixture turns an amber color, which will likely take around 10 minutes. When it is amber, remove from heat and add warm half and half, 1/4 c. butter, and salt. Stir until mixture is smooth and well combined.

Pour over baked brownie mixture. Press remaining brownie mixture into large, flat pieces and lay them over the caramel to cover the top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Cool to room temperature before eating.

Oreo Cream Cheese Cake

Remember how last year for Sam's birthday I made this Peanut Butter Cup Layered Cake? This year I wanted to do the same kind of thing with Oreos. Then I saw a recipe for Oreo Ice Cream Fudge in the Worldwide Ward Cookbook, and I instantly envisioned the fudge sandwiched between the cake layers. This cake takes a little bit of time to put together, but if you make the fudge and the cakes the day before, it will come together fairly quickly.

Do you like my cake stand? I actually don't own one. This is a plastic plate balanced on a mug. :)

For the cake...

Mix together:

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Bring to a boil:

2 sticks butter

4 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup water

Pour over the flour mixture and add:

2 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

Liberally grease and flour 2 8-inch round pans. Pour half of the batter into each pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the fudge filling:

Line an 8-inch round pan with plastic wrap. Crush enough Oreo cookies to cover the bottom of the pan. Melt 3 cups milk chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 15-20 seconds. Add 1 c. cookies-and-cream ice cream and stir until incorporated. If needed, stick it back in the microwave for a few seconds to get it all uniformly combined. Pour over the crushed Oreo cookies, and spread a layer of crushed Oreo cookies on top. Store in the freezer until ready to put in the cake.

For the frosting:

Whip until smooth:

2 8 oz. bricks cream cheese

1 stick butter

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

enough milk to make a good consistency

To assemble:

With a serrated knife, cut the rounded tops off both cakes to level them. Brush off any loose crumbs. Place one cake on a cake plate and spread the top with a thin layer of frosting. Unwrap the fudge and place it on top of the cake. Spread another thin layer of cream cheese frosting on top of the fudge and top with the other cake. Frost the entire cake with frosting and decorate with Oreos in desired design.

Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango

This is another gem from that little Thai cookbook I got at the Asian Market in Provo. It is normally served as a dessert, but we eat it as a main dish. :) It is so refreshing in the summertime! It is traditionally served warm, but I actually prefer it cold. Either way is tasty! I just recommend not reheating the mangoes, so if you serve it warm you should serve the mangoes on the side rather than combining everything together. Enjoy!

2 1/2 cups uncooked Mahatma jasmine rice (Important! It needs to be Mahatma jasmine rice! It comes in a shiny purple package.)

1 can coconut milk

1 cup sugar

3/4 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 mangoes

Cook the rice according to package directions. Put coconut milk, sugar, salt, and vegetable oil in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when it boils. Pour the coconut milk mixture over the cooked rice and cover for 10-15 minutes to let it soak into the rice. Chill or serve warm with fresh, diced mango.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

I made these for dessert yesterday and they were a hit! I adjusted this recipe a bit to come up with them. They're quite rich, so I suggest cutting them kind of small.

8 oz. brick cream cheese

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp. milk

Brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines)

Additional ingredients needed to prepare brownies according to directions on box

12 oz. pkg. milk chocolate chips

Whip cream cheese until smooth. Beat in peanut butter, sugar, egg, and milk and set aside. Prepare brownie batter as directed on box. Add chocolate chips. Spread into greased 9x13 pan, reserving a few tablespoons to swirl on top. Spread peanut butter/cream cheese mixture on top of brownie batter. Make 5 thin horizontal lines with remaining brownie batter. Insert butter knife into batter in one corner of the pan and drag it through the batter vertically, alternating directions with each column made with the knife, until the batter is sufficiently swirled together across the pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. Let cool before eating.

**These brownies taste best if allowed to sit for at least 12 hours after baking to allow everything to set up and the flavors to come together.

White Chip Mint Chocolate Cookies

These cookies were inspired by Great Harvest Bread's "Mint Blarneys." Mom and I decided to combine the recipe on the back of Nestle White "Morsels" (Sam pointed out that they don't even have chocolate in them!) with the Mint Blarney idea, and this is what we came up with. This recipe makes a double batch, so don't be too alarmed when you see a whole pound of butter on the list of ingredients!

1 pound (4 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1-2 tsp. mint extract

4 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/3 cups cocoa

4 1/2 cups flour

12 oz. pkg. white "chocolate" chips

12 oz. pkg. milk chocolate chips

Cream together butter, sugars, vanilla, and mint extract (to taste). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt, baking soda, and cocoa. Mix well. Add flour and mix until combined. Stir in both packages chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour. Shape into balls and cook at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until centers are just set. Cool on pans for about 5 minutes or until cookies are easily transferred to cooling racks with a spatula.