Strawberry Oreos

I saw a picture of cookies like these around Valentine's Day and thought, "Hey!  I can make those by tweaking my homemade Oreo recipe."  So that is what I did.  Doug took some to work and one co-worker said that they are the best cookies ever.  Not sure about the ever part, but they sure are good.

2 boxes Strawberry Cake Mix

1 1/2 cups shortening

4 eggs

1 lb powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese

1 stick butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

Combine cake mix with shortening and eggs.  Should be pretty thick.  Form into small balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8min at 350*.  I use my small scoop from Pampered Chef to form the balls; about 1 1/2 tsp or so worth of dough.  Cool completely.

When cooled combine remaining ingredients together and spread between cooled cookies and sandwich together.  Store in fridge if they last that long.

 

Gluten Free Thin Mint Cookies

So, we've just been told that we are allergic to wheat.  Crap!  What am I going to do?  I'm a baker.  How do I bake without wheat?!?!?  Let's just say life is not fair and I'm not happy about it.  On the other hand now I get the chance to turn all my favorites into gluten free versions and see how they match up.  One favorite of mine are Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies.  Really, I can and will, if given the chance, eat a whole container by myself.  So after learning about this horrible joke of nature and seeing a recipe on pinterest, I made these tonight and also for added bonus made them sugar free as well.  I know.  I'm an over achiever.  What can I say?

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup sugar or Xylitol

1 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 egg

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp vanilla

Favorite Dipping Chocolate

Peppermint oil or extract - see below

In bowl mix the oils and sugar or sugar substitute.  Stir in the brown rice flour.  Scrape down the sides.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  When you look at the mixture you are going to think there is no way that these are going to hold together but trust me they will.  Take about 1/2 of the dough and press it into a slightly flattened ball.  For the next part I used a silpat sheet, but waxed paper or lightly floured work surface should be fine. 

Place dough on work area and start pressing it flat.  You are going to have to press it and push the crumbs in and squeeze the breaks together.  After you have it pressed out to about 1/8" you can use a rolling pin to even out the surface.  Just don't push too hard or you will crack the dough.  Now use a 1 1/2" cookie cutter and cut out your cookies.  As you can see I didn't have a circle but the heart one was perfect.  Plus my kids thought I put my love in the cookies because of the shape.  Place cut out cookies on greased cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven at 350*F for 8-9 min.  You want to make sure they are done all the way without burning.  Mine were a little under done and therefore not as crisp.

Cool completely and then prepare to dip them in chocolate.

For this part just melt your favorite dipping chocolate and flavor with mint oil or extract to taste.  If you use almond bark you can use extract, however if you use chocolate then you need oil otherwise you run the risk of having the chocolate seize up.  For the milk chocolate I just used almond bark because that is what I had.  However, the dark chocolate is a sugar free bar from chocoperfection.com.  They use chicory root to sweeten the chocolate so that you get no sugar and the sweetness that you taste is full of fiber.  One bar has 14 grams of prebiotic fiber!

So my dark chocolate cookies are 100% sugar and gluten free while the milk chocolate has sugar in the coating.  The taste is phenomenal and I had to hide them in the cookie jar so I would stop eating them.

Post note:  The second batch I made was wetter and I was able to roll them out with a rolling pin without issue.  It was raining all day so the humidity level could play a role in what your dough looks like.

Pizza Hummus

Hummus?  Gross!  Sick!  I'm not eating that!

Those are the words I expected to hear when I introduced my children to hummus months ago.  Instead I got: "Can I have more?"  and "This is good."  If you know my children then you can understand why I had to pick myself up off the floor and if you don't, well... let's just say that anything other than a PB&J or Mac n' Cheese and I get mutiny.  Now they prefer hummus sandwiches over the PB&J.  Go figure!

So I set out to make my own.  I mean why not?  It's got to be cheaper than buying the stuff at $3+/container when chickpeas only cost 60 cents a can or so.  Plus I can control what is in it and it will be guaranteed to be fresh.

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

2-3 cloves garlic

2 cans chickpeas, drained reserving 1/2 cup of liquid

1/4 cup tahini, recipe below

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp salt

Heat oil in small pan over med-high heat.  Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and seasoning; cook about 2 min or until slightly toasted.  Transfer the mix to a food processor and add rest of ingredients.  Process until smooth.  Taste and season with salt if needed.  The taste really develops after sitting in the fridge for a couple of hours so you may want to wait to adjust seasonings.

Tahini Recipe

1/2 cup sesame seeds

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp water

Process sesame seeds in a food processor until smooth.  Pour into bowl and stir in remaining ingredients.

This will make enough for two batches of pizza hummus and lasts for several months in the fridge.

The hummus recipe is adapted from Food Network Magazine and the tahini is from a childrens' cookbook.

Breakfast on the go

It's Valentine's Day and you want to make your special someone breakfast in bed, but they are already gone when you get up.  What do you do?  I suppose you could get up at some crazy hour to accomplish your task but I have a simpler and way yummier idea.  How about a breakfast in bed on the go cereal bark?  Yes, you heard right cereal in chocolate.  Really?  Could life get any better?  I first got this idea from chocoley.com but they used fresh fruit and I wasn't hip on that.  There would be no real shelf life if fresh fruit was involved so I though of dried fruit and this cereal bark was born.

What you need:

Good dipping chocolate white or brown

Dried fruit

Breakfast cereal

Chopped nuts, optional

Melt the chocolate and spread out on a piece of wax paper.  You want to keep it thick enough to hold your fruit and cereal, but thin enough so it isn't over powering the taste.  Sprinkle with desired toppings.
(I used dried cherries, white chocolate and chocolate rice krispies for mine.)
Once cool and hardened break into pieces and package it up for giving or just enjoying yourself.

Packaged and ready to give

Speedy Rolls

It's 5 o'clock and you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry.  You need rolls.  There's no time to thaw some frozen ones and you don't have time to whip up a batch.  Or do you?  Yes, you do.  These are called speedy rolls because just like their name they are speedy to make and even speedier to eat.  Yeast rolls that are in the oven within 30 min and at the table another 15 more.  Soft and fluffy.  My children love them.  My husband loves them.  I love them.  This batch makes up 16 very large crescents or 32 smaller ones and we can eat them all in one sitting.  I've even made they garlicky by brushing the rolls with butter and sprinkling with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese before rolling up and baking.  Ohhhhhhh, they were so good and very bad of my to make when I'm watching how much I am eating or not eating at the moment.  So if you're in a hurry and need rolls or just want to try a new roll recipe this one is for you.

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp salt

6 1/2 cup flour, divided

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening

Place water sugar and yeast in a bowl and beat together.  Add the salt and 2 cups of flour; beat.  Add the eggs and shortening; beat.  Add the remaining 4 1/2 cups flour; beat together.  Cover with towel and let raise for 20 min.  Split dough in half and roll out on floured board to a big circle with dough being 1/4" or so thick.

  Cut into triangles (like a pizza) and roll up big end to small end making a crescent roll.  At this point you can decide if you want 16 large rolls or 32 smaller ones just cut accordingly. 

Place on greased baking pan and bake at 350*F for 15-20 min.  Top with melted butter right out of the oven and enjoy.

Cool Veggie Pizza

I was dreaming of summer today and wishing for it's quick arrival.  It was with this in mind that for book club today I made this cool and fresh veggie pizza.  If you know Pampered Chef, you  may recognize this recipe.  It was with memories of their pizza that I made this one today.  I'm not sure how close I got to their recipe, but it still tasted awesome.  I could have easily eaten the whole pan and probably would have if no one had shown up, but they did so I didn't.

2 can crescent rolls

8oz cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsp miracle whip

2 cloves garlic, minced or to taste

2 tsp dill weed or to taste

2-3 cup chopped fresh veggies or to taste

Unroll the rolls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Press seems together.  Bake at 375* for 10 min; set aside to cool completely.  When crust is cool, cream together the cream cheese, miracle whip, garlic and dill weed.  Spread on crust.  Top with chopped veggies.  Slice and eat.

Tex-Mex Casserole

I've really been cooking by the seat of my pants the last couple of weeks.  Normally I plan out a menu for the week, shop for it, and then serve it.  However, my computer has been crazy and wouldn't let my writing program work, so hence I've been cooking with whatever and making it up as a go.  Sometimes great things come from this type of cooking and sometimes dissaster.  I'm pleased to say that this was one of the good times.  A taco casserole.

1 lb hamburger

1 pgk taco seasoning

1 cup salsa

8 oz cream cheese, cubed

1 can corn

1 can kidney or black beans

2/3 cup pumpkin or squash puree

1 cup shredded mexican mix cheese

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro - optional

1 cup bisquick

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400*F.

Brown the hamburger and drain of fat if any.  Stir in the seasoning, cilantro if using, salsa, cream cheese, corn, beans, and squash.  Stir to melt the cream cheese.  In medium bowl, stir together the bisquick, milk and eggs until blended.  Stir in the cheese.  Transfer meat mix to a 7X11" greased pan.  Pour the bisquick mix on top of meat.  Bake for 20-25 min until top is golden brown and meat mix is bubbling.

Monster Cookies

These are indeed monster in size.

3 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

2 cup brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp Karo syrup

1/2 Tbsp vanilla

4 tsp baking soda

6 eggs

8oz chocolate chips

16 oz M&M's

9 cup oatmeal

3 cup peanut butter

2 cup Rice Krispies

In large bowl cream together the sugars, peanut butter, and shortening.  Mix in the vanilla, eggs, Karo syrup,and baking soda.  Stir in the oatmeal, Rice Krispies, chocolate chips and M&M's. 

(This makes a big batch of cookies.  This is my 42 cup Tupperware bowl and it is full)

Place on cookie sheet using 1/4 cup of batter per cookie.  Bake for 15 min at 325*F

Ovens vary and so does this size of cookies you wish to make just watch them so they don't get over done and adjust baking time accrdingly.

Mexican Brownies

1 cup cocoa

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cup sugar

1 TBSP vanilla

7 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup melted butter

Mix the cocoa, flour and seasonings; set aside.  In medium bowl mix the butter and the eggs.  Add vanilla.  Stir egg mix into the flour until just combined.  Pour into a greased 9X13" pan.  Bake for 35-40min at 350*F.  Makes 24 bars

*Optionally you can frost them like I did.  Just make your favorite chocolate frosting and add 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of black pepper.  Spread on cooled brownies.

Cherry Chocolate Bread Pudding

I love reading cookbooks.  It's almost a fetish I have.  I'm like a stalker of cookbooks.  So, having said that, while at the library I came across this book titled "Double Delicious!" by Jessica Seinfeld.  I'm not sure why I grabbed it but I did and there are some interesting ideas in there.  I may end up buying the thing but that is for later.  Right now I want to tell you just a hint about it and then share the recipe I adapted.  Her whole thing is about how to sneak healthy into what your kids will eat.  By healthy I mean veggies and they even get into dessert.  This morning for breakfast I made her Chocolate Bread Pudding.  A little strong on taste so I've adapted it for this post, but delicious and the best part is you can't even tell that there are pureed carrots in it.

3 cups milk (whatever you have even soy will work)

6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup carrot puree

8 oz soft whole-wheat bread (I made mine), cubed

1/2 cup dried cherries

2 lg egg whites (I used 1/4 cup egg beaters)

1 lg egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 375*.  Grease a 8X8" baking dish or equivalent in size.  Whisk the milk, cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a near bowl.  Remove from heat and stir in the carrots.  If your pan is big enough toss in your bread and stir to coat, if not then pour into a bowl and add the bread.  Let sit for 10-15 min, until the milk is cool enough to touch.  In small bowl whisk together the egg, egg whites and extracts.  Pour over milk mixture and toss in the cherries.  Stir well, until the liquid becomes smooth and bread is evenly coated.  Transfer to baking dish and bake for 45-50 min or until pudding is crusty on top and puffy in the center.

I made this yesterday and then just warmed it up at 350* for 30min this morning.  Turned out great.  The only complaint was the strong flavor of almond and so I have cut it in half here.  If you want to try her way out it was 2 tsp almond extract.